In the opinion of the committees, the Commission’s proposal is “disproportionate and inconsistent with scientific advice”.
The Parliament’s Agriculture and Forestry Committee and the Environment Committee both reject in their statements the EU Commission’s proposal to ban targeted herring fishing in Finland’s nearby waters next year.
In the opinion of both committees, the Commission’s proposal to ban targeted herring fishing is disproportionate and contradicts scientific advice.
The committees are concerned that the Commission’s proposal does not take into account the scientific advice of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), according to which herring fishing could be continued on a limited basis both in the Gulf of Bothnia and in the main basin of the Baltic Sea.
The Committee on Agriculture and Forestry and the Committee on the Environment will give their opinion to the large committee of the parliament, which is supposed to finalize Finland’s position on the issue next week.
The Commission asked for more information on herring stocks
After the committees had submitted their opinions, the European Commission said they had accepted his proposal on fishing opportunities in the Baltic Sea for next year.
The commission proposes maximum allowable catches and quotas for three out of ten managed stocks in the Baltic Sea. The rest will be confirmed later.
For many fish, the Commission has requested more information from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea.
More information has been requested, for example, about the herring of the central Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Bothnia. In any case, the Commission is currently proposing to end targeted fishing for these herring stocks by 2024.
EU countries make the final decisions on the maximum amounts based on the Commission’s proposals. The issue will be closed at the ministerial meeting on the 23rd-24th. October