Today the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) proposes that the fishing quota for eastern Baltic cod should be set to zero next year. The cod stock has deteriorated for a long time and is now considered to be so close to the limit that it is unclear if recovery even is possible. ICES notes that the only thing that can be done is to stop all fishing for cod in the Baltic Sea.
It is the EU Member States around the Baltic that make the decision later this year. Therefore, the political work on a long-term plan must begin today.
Two objections to a stop for cod fishing exists:
There are other causes rather than fishing that is reason for the stock's crisis situation. It is true that the Baltic Sea is a unique inland sea with many challenges for animal life living here. But fishing is what we can influence in the short term and a viable cod stock stands better against external stresses.
A stop for cod fishing risks the fishing industry. The cod fishing in the Baltic Sea has long since lost its economic significance, the catch value amounts to some ten million Swedish Crowns. If fishing is not stopped in order for the stock to get a chance to recover, there are absolutely no chances for cod fishing in the future either.
Read the scientific advice from ICES here:
Cod (Gadus morhua) in subdivisions 24–32, eastern Baltic stock (eastern Baltic Sea)
Cod (Gadus morhua) in subdivisions 22–24, western Baltic stock (western Baltic Sea)