Mediaboss Marketing

BRUSSELS: European Union lawmakers backed on Tuesday a long-term plan to end overfishing of cod, sprat and herring stocks in the Baltic Sea, the first such plan to be adopted under the EU's reformed common fisheries policy.

European Parliament members (MEPs) in the Fisheries Committee passed the multiannual plan which would combine the management of cod, herring and sprat stocks into a single plan to take account of their interdependence.

Cod feed on sprats and herrings, and herrings and sprats sometimes feed on the eggs of cod, meaning the health of one stock affects the others.

Currently, only cod are subject to a management plan.

By managing several species together the plan can better take into account their feeding habits as well as environmental conditions which affect stock levels, leading to more sustainable fishing, according to the European Commission.

"The multispecies approach is much more effective than managing a single species," said MEP Jaroslaw Walesa who is leading the proposal through parliament.

MEPs strengthened the original Commission proposal by requiring that stocks be kept above levels which ensure that no more fish are caught than a given stock can reproduce in a year.

"The plan for the Baltic proposed by the European Commission was not complete, but the MEPs have succeeded in improving it," said Lasse Gustavsson, executive director of marine conservation group Oceana.

The multiannual plan for the stocks of cod, herring and sprat in the Baltic Sea was proposed by the Commission in October last year.

The proposal will now be voted on at a plenary session of the European Parliament at the end of April before negotiations between member states and lawmakers can start.

Read more:
EU lawmakers back plan to end overfishing in the Baltic sea