Saving Seafood

Danish Fishermen Fear Further Slashing of EU’s Cod Quotas

October 11th, 2016 — A stiff wind buffets Ulrik Koelle Hansen’s trawler as he heads out of this tiny fishing village in search of an early morning catch, but it’s nothing to the battering he predicts if the European Union slashes the fishing quota for cod in the western Baltic, as it did late Monday.

According to scientists and environmentalists, the region’s cod stock is on the verge of collapse. While scientists are pushing for the quota to be cut by about 90 percent, conservation groups want to shut it down temporarily.

“If we do not do something in time to allow the cod to recover, it may mean that we lose the (cod) fishery altogether in the near future,” said Inger Melander, a spokeswoman for the Swedish branch of the World Wildlife Fund.

After all-day negotiations in Luxembourg, the European Union late Monday agreed to set tougher cod catch quotas, but stayed well above targets sought by scientists and environmentalists. The EU fisheries ministers agreed on a 56 percent quota cut for the western Baltic cod caught off Denmark and Germany.

Officials said Denmark pushed hard to safeguard the livelihood of its fishermen to make sure there was enough that they would still be allowed to catch.

As Koelle Hansen sees it, cutting the quota would mean the end for the few fisherman still working out of Bagenkop, a sleepy fishing village of less than 500 people on the southern tip of the Langeland island.

Read the full story at The New York Times 

Baltic Cod Fishermen Get Better Quotas Than Science Wants

October 11th, 2016 — With Baltic cod drawing closer to the edge of commercial extinction, the European Union on Monday set tougher catch quotas for fishermen but stayed well above targets sought by scientists and environmentalists.

After all-day negotiations in Luxembourg, the EU fisheries ministers agreed on a 56 percent quota cut for the western Baltic cod caught off Denmark and Germany, while scientists were pushing for the quota to be cut by about 90 percent.

Officials said Denmark was pushing hard to safeguard the livelihood of its fishermen to make sure there was enough that they would still be allowed to catch.

EU Fisheries Commissioner Karmenu Vella had been seeking a reduction of 88 percent “to bring back the stock to sustainability as soon as possible” but also had to compromise to keep member states on board for a unanimous decision.

“After listening to the member states’ arguments, and the impacts on the different fleets and in particular on artisanal fleets, I have accepted a lower reduction,” Vella said, insisting it would still give the species a good chance of survival in the Baltic waters.

The EU has agreed to revamp its fishing policies to protect dozens of species from commercial extinction, and by 2020 all fish must be sustainably caught. Member states, however, have a long tradition of rejecting scientific advice and instead sought the best deal possible for the industry, not for the survival of the fish. Over the years, it has driven many species to the edge of a full collapse, and instead of being plentiful, like cod in the Atlantic and North Sea and Bluefin tuna in the Mediterranean, they became threatened species.

It is now the same for cod in the western Baltic and tough quota reductions are needed. Some environmentalists have called for a total closing of those fisheries.

Read the full story at The New York Times