CCB´s comment to Ministers’ decision on TACs for the Baltic Sea

CCB • October 15, 2019

CCB´s comment to Ministers’ decision on TACs for the Baltic Sea – Better than expected, but the major failure is the missing link between cod and main pray sprat

The annual policy cycle for setting fishing limits for the 2020 fishing year in the Baltic is concluded. The Commission’s TAC (Total Allowable Catch) proposal, this time almost in line with the joint NGOs proposal, set the scene for the Fisheries Ministers Council meeting in Luxembourg on the 14th of October .
CCB acknowledge and applaud that the Ministers and the Commission have taken a big step toward their own responsibility to provide sustainable fisheries with the agreement reached.

The final outcome of the Council meeting was better than expected . Several TACs were kept fully in line with the rules in place and scientific advice. The Ministers maintained the current closure on the eastern Baltic cod fishery, only allowing limited bycatch of this cod stock in other fisheries.
Ministers also reduced the western Baltic cod TAC significantly. Both the western and eastern cod stocks are in deep trouble. While Ministers are beginning to appreciate the gravity of the situation, they failed to fully appreciate scientific advice.

The western herring TAC was advised to be zero due to a vulnerable stock situation, and we are disappointed that the Ministers did not adhere to this advice. The salmon TAC as well was set to high, but if the proposed measures to reduce illegal fishing are effective then the end result may be an improved situation for many weak salmon stocks in the Baltic

commented Nils Höglund, CCB Fisheries Policy Officer.

There was in CCBs view only one major failure: the sprat TAC and lack of ecosystem considerations linked to recovery of the closed eastern Baltic cod fishery . Scientists have repeated for years that cod are starving, with steadily deteriorating body conditions, and that the sprat is a key component in the cod’s diet:

CCB and collaborating NGOs have called for spatial management of the sprat fishery or a dramatically reduced sprat TAC, to allow more food availability for cod recovery. Not only did Ministers not manage to add spatial management provisions to the sprat fishery in support of cod recovery, but they actually agreed to raise the sprat TAC above scientific advice and the Commission’s own proposal

added Nils Höglund.

CCB underlines that there is little point in stopping a cod fishery if the remaining fish will starve .
We must make a concerted effort to appreciate the needs of a fish population within an ecosystem to support fishery recovery and sustainability. Single-species fisheries management driven by TACs alone is too limited. We must dare to move away from this tired exercise and work cross-sectorally.

On a general note, CCB must remind about the unacceptable way these “negotiations” about our ecosystems health takes place behind closed doors. Citizens cannot hold any politicians accountable because of this lack of transparency.

Links:

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.