Western cod stock crisis

CCB • June 1, 2016

ICES released the latest catch advice for Baltic fish stocks on May 31st. There are several worrying signs but by far the most dramatic is the situation for the western cod stock in areas west of Bornholm. ICES is advising to reduce commercial catches by  89% compared to last years catches! ICES advices on total commercial catch of only 917 tons compared to last years commercial catch of 8400 tons. The stock is in very poor shape and all stock health indicators are below what is called the limit values as fishing pressure has been too high for the past 20 years. The stock status and ICES advice basically means that all catches must be brought down to a minimum.

In accordance with the new management plan and the CFP, emergency measures are called for. CCB considers it clear that in this situation, cod can basically only be taken as bycatch and targeted fishery, commercial or recreational, should stop temporarily. It has been clear for the past 3-4 years that this situation will come and BALTFISH, the Council and the Commission has not been able to act responsibly and reduce the fishing enough so far. The fishing pressure must be brought down to MSY level and measures to rebuild the stock is not longer optional or can be put off for the future. We call upon BALTFISH to set catch levels in line with advice and the Commission to defend the new management plan targets and MSY.

 

A summarized description of ICES advice in a short and explained format can be found at the Fisheries Secretariat website

CCB is looking for a Network Officer to join our team at the CCB International Secretariat

By CCB • April 9, 2025
Coalition Clean Baltic – CCB is a politically independent network, uniting 27 environmental non-profit organizations, as well as partners and experts from 11 countries surrounding the Baltic Sea. The main goal of CCB is to promote the protection and improvement of the environment and natural resources of the Baltic Sea region by encouraging new and constructive approaches and engaging people to become part of the solution instead of part of the problem. CCB Secretariat is based in Uppsala, Sweden.

Attacks on NGOs: 570+ Organisations Join Forces to Defend Civil Society

By CCB • April 7, 2025
European civil society organisations (CSOs) are currently facing an attack coming from certain Members of the European Parliament. Spearheaded by some MEPs from the European People’s Party (EPP) and by far-right groups, this attack resorts to misleading arguments to fabricate a scandal. This portrayal has been amplified through the media, with notable exceptions of articles that attempted to clarify this misleading narrative. European CSOs are crucial to ensure the voices of citizens from different parts of Europe are heard in the EU institutions. Attacks against civil society are unfortunately not new and are exacerbated by this harmful idea. Furthermore, for-profit corporate lobbying is through the roof when compared to non-profit advocacy. In 2024, the 50 corporations with the largest lobbying budgets collectively spent nearly €200 million on lobbying the EU alone (66% more than in 2015). Comparing this to the funding environmental NGOs receive under the LIFE programme - €15.6 million annually of a €700 million yearly budget - truly shows the weakness of this ‘scandal’. This is why over 570 civil society organisations from 40 countries, including all EU Member States, have joined forces to call on those in power to act now and ensure that civil society is adequately funded and enabled to share our crucial perspectives . In this statement, we address: The source of this false narrative; Inaccurate claims made about how CSOs obtain and use funding; Why it’s paramount that CSOs receive sufficient funding; The need for civil dialogue to enable CSOs participation. Democracy is about the right of citizens to be collectively heard for building an inclusive society and a shared European future; properly funded independent CSOs are a crucial tool for that. We call on decision-makers to ensure civil society organisations can thrive and play their role in interacting with policy-makers in order to have a more fully informed decision-making process. Read the full statement here . -END Civil Society Europe (CSE) is the coordination of civil society organisations at EU level. Through its membership, CSE unites EU-level membership-based organisations that reach out to millions of people active in or supported by not-for-profits and civil society organisations across the EU. CSE was created by several civil society organisations as a follow-up to the European Year of Citizens and was established as an international not-for-profit under Belgian law in 2016. Since then, it has become the point of reference for EU institutions on transversal issues concerning civil dialogue and civic space.