Changes from plenary report to adopted text

14. Calls on the Member States and the Commission to further strengthen the implementation of the landing obligation to tackle illegal discarding in the Baltic Sea, recognising the need for workable measures, to support selectivity and reduce unwanted catches, and to implement the relevant provisions on this matter in line with the CFP and the Fisheries Control Regulation;

15. Highlights the role of the European Ocean Pact in fostering a holistic approach and a regenerative and sustainable blue economy in the Baltic Sea, with targeted actions to restore fish stocks and reduce environmental pressures; notes that the implementation of the objectives of the Ocean Pact and the Competitiveness Compass requires adequate financial support for the development of a resilient maritime economy that is viable over the long term, as well as to foster innovation, modernisation, decarbonisation and digitalisation;

16. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to reduce the administrative burden and ensure better coordination across policies to strengthen the resilience, competitiveness and long-term sustainability of the Baltic Sea region in the face of ecological and market challenges;

17. Calls on the Commission as the guardian of the Treaties, to act in accordance with the Treaties in cases where the Council and the Member States are in breach of EU rules such as the rules of the Baltic MAP;

18. Calls on the Member States to ensure the full and effective implementation of the EU fisheries control regulation, including provisions addressing misreporting of catches and strengthening the accuracy and reliability of catch reporting in the region;

Improving the scientific advice

19. Underlines the importance of basing fisheries management on the best available scientific advice and the pivotal role of ICES in ensuring scientific coherence, as well as the importance of fishers’ knowledge; highlights the importance of the independence of ICES; calls on the Member States and the Commission to ensure that updated and necessary scientific fishing data are available for ICES in order to continue improving its advice and ensure the timely availability of high-quality scientific assessments; calls on the Commission to make all its requests for scientific advice from ICES publicly available to also allow for an open dialogue;

20. Urges the Commission to immediately request that ICES, in its deliberations on the memorandum of understanding, further develop ecosystem-based, multi-species advice as well as advice on stock recovery, recognising environmental variability and food web interactions, to explore the use of ecosystem-based reference points and ecosystem-adjusted fishing mortality data tailored for the Baltic and specific species interactions, and to also include complementary indicators based on other relevant EU rules such as the MSFD, for example to include large fish indicators as well as age and size distribution indicators; highlights that any such advice should remain transparent and predictable for the sector and avoid overestimation subsequently leading to undue catch limits and business uncertainty;

21. Calls on the Commission, in the case of the Baltic Sea, to request from ICES advice for precautionary buffers related to the uncertainty of the scientific advice, as well as the uncertainty of recruitment and biomass trajectory, as well as advice on the effects of not using ranges above MSY and all relevant consequences, avoiding rigid or automatic reductions that disregard socio-economic realities; stresses that MSY remains an important tool for adaptive and responsible management; calls furthermore on the Commission to request from STECF relevant socio-economic analyses for the Baltic Sea;

22. Calls on the Commission to base all stock assessments used for implementing EU law on BMSY biomass reference points, as reflected in the objectives of Article 3(1) of the Baltic MAP Regulation and Article 2(2) of the CFP;

23. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure that the management of Baltic Sea fish stocks includes targets for the restoration of natural size and age distributions within populations in line with Article 2(5)(j) of the CFP that refers to Article 1(1) of the MSFD, recognising that healthy population structures contribute to reproductive capacity, stock resilience and ecosystem stability; encourages the development of monitoring indicators and more selective fishing practices developed in cooperation with the sector that can reduce the systematic removal of larger and older fish and better protect the recruitment potential of the stock;

24. Calls on the Commission, for the purpose of implementing EU law including the Baltic MAP Regulation, to request scientific advice from ICES that considers relevant environmental and ecosystem stressors in the Baltic Sea; considers that this advice should clearly highlight and reflect, among other factors, risks related to the current state of the environment, land-sea interaction, the increased uncertainty due to climate change and the impact of species interactions including relevant predator populations; emphasises that any advice should also clearly communicate the respective level of uncertainty;

25. Calls on the Commission to consult with ICES within the framework of the existing memorandum of understanding to encourage the regular update of their technical guidelines for harvest control rules and the further refinement of stock assessment methods based on independent scientific criteria; notes that it is important that ICES – when delivering advice to the Commission or the Member States – use the most up-to-date approaches for the Baltic Sea, and that they remain scientifically sound and consistent with the EU fisheries legal framework; acknowledges that this is an internal ICES process;

26. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to initiate a comprehensive genetic population mapping in the Baltic Sea of certain commercially exploited species, including herring and sprat, as well as other commercially exploited species, based on the best available scientific knowledge, and to supplement evidence-based advice for better informed decisions on fishing opportunities and on technical measures; stresses that such genetic data must be fully validated by ICES and integrated into long-term stock assessment models before being used for management purposes;

27. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to enhance the availability and quality of data regarding age and size criteria for the stocks concerned in preparation of fisheries management decisions for the region; highlights that improved data collection on these parameters should support the integration of MSFD Descriptor 3 Criterion 3 (D3C3) as required by Article 3(3) of the Baltic MAP;

28. Calls on the Commission to request that ICES produce a detailed scientific analysis of the current EU approach to utilising scientific advice for the Baltic Sea; calls furthermore on the Commission to ensure that requested advice on catch levels fully reflects all relevant legal requirements and policy objectives including the objectives of the CFP as set out in Article 2; points out the importance for the Commission of addressing possible shortcomings and outlining concrete actions on how the currently available advice on fishing opportunities can be used in a sufficiently precautionary way to meet all relevant legal requirements and objectives;

29. Encourages the Commission and the Council to ensure that TAC-setting is transparent and grounded in the best available scientific advice and knowledge according to the objectives of the Baltic MAP Regulation and the CFP, and according to ecosystem-based multi-species advice, and takes into account interactions between fisheries and the long-term socio-economic stability of coastal communities;

30. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to take into consideration relevant international work and definitions, including that of UNEP, when further developing the understanding of ecosystem-based management within the existing EU legal framework such as on functioning ecosystems as noted in Article 5(5)(a) MSFD;

Other factors impacting Baltic Sea fisheries

31. Requests that the Commission develop a science-based, coordinated and cross-sectoral plan that addresses key stressors affecting the Baltic Sea while ensuring inclusive governance and maritime spatial planning, engaging and cooperating with all relevant stakeholders;

32. Calls on the Commission to utilise the opportunity to support improved policy coordination and coherent implementation of marine and water-related policies through the upcoming legislative proposal for an Ocean Act;

33. Calls for effective climate change mitigation and adaptation measures to address climate-related risks in a timely manner and avoid the escalating risks and costs of delayed action in the region;

34. Calls for the continued and effective implementation of EU environmental legislation while recognising the need for balanced and workable solutions for all affected sectors to address environmental pressures in the Baltic Sea and other EU waters, including nutrient pollution from multiple sources;

35. Calls for a significant increase in investment in modern sewage treatment plants and pollution retention and filtration systems, both in the Baltic Sea countries and in all river basins discharging water into the Baltic Sea; stresses that without the comprehensive modernisation of water and sewage infrastructure, all efforts to improve the quality of the Baltic Sea’s waters will remain merely declarative and ineffective;

36. Calls on the Member States and the Commission to base any approach to natural predation on science and stakeholder consultations, including preventive, locally anchored and targeted management measures for great cormorants and grey seals, ensuring that any measures adopted are effective, fulfil all legal obligations, and include adequate monitoring, dedicated and adequate funding and strengthened stakeholder cooperation, to ensure the effectiveness of the implemented measures, including mitigation practices such as deterrents or physical exclusion;

40. Reiterates its call on the Commission to propose an EU great cormorant management plan for Baltic Sea fisheries and aquaculture, based on the best available scientific advice and Member State practices, taking into consideration the plan recently proposed by the Food and Agriculture Organization’s European Inland Fisheries and Aquaculture Advisory Commission (EIFAAC as well as previous EU-funded research projects such as ‘INTERCAFE’; stresses the need for preventive measures, compensation for losses, and funding from EU and national sources;

41. Reiterates the grave environmental and safety risks posed by unexploded ordnance (UXO) dumped in the Baltic Sea; recalls its resolution of 27 April 2021 on chemical residues in the Baltic Sea and the successful CHEMSEA, DAIMON and DAIMON 3 projects; urges the Commission and the Member States to take further coordinated and practical measures to systematically locate, assess and monitor these hazardous materials to prioritise areas for remediation;

42. Calls for joint efforts by Member States and the Commission to support the development of scientific research and exchange best practices on safe and cost-effective ways to identify and remove munitions and unexploded ordnance (UXO) from the seafloor with a view to enabling coordinated large-scale remediation actions;

43. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to launch a coordinated, long-term, adequately funded EU programme aimed at identifying, neutralising and removing Baltic Sea UXO;

44. Condemns Russia’s irresponsible, unsustainable and unscientific exploitation of Baltic Sea fish stocks;

45. Calls on the Council and the Commission to consider the unilateral actions of Russia when setting quotas for the Baltic Sea; further calls on the Commission to consider actions aimed at pressuring Russia to bring quotas in line with scientific advice;

Legal changes

47. Highlights the urgent need to do more in terms of holistic policy coordination as well as continued and accelerated progress in implementation of legislation of other policy areas in order to avoid relying solely on fisheries measures and preventing further socio-economic decline of coastal communities; notes the efforts that have been made within the context of the ‘Our Baltic’ conferences; encourages further progress towards concrete results;

48. Urges the Commission to initiate an evaluation and possible revision of the Baltic MAP Regulation with a view to improving its clarity, coherence and practical application, assessing its performance with regard to environmental and socio-economic aspects; stresses further the importance of ensuring that any possible future adjustment of the framework remains simple, science-based and workable for the sector;

49. Calls on the Commission, within a possible revision of the Baltic MAP Regulation, to assess and, where needed, propose the inclusion of salmon and trout stocks as specific stocks to be covered by the scope of the regulation as regards bycatch;

50. Expresses concerns that the added value in terms of regional cooperation in the Baltic Sea has been low, considering that the MAP has mostly consolidated pre-existing or already initiated avenues for cooperation; notes that due to slow processes and increased bureaucracy accompanying such initiatives, relatively few joint recommendations by Member States have been initiated, leading to a worrying signal that regionalisation provisions of the EU fisheries rules are not being used to adapt management measures to the specificities of the Baltic Sea; highlights the need for regional cooperation between the Baltic countries, including all stakeholders;

51. Stresses that effective Baltic Sea management must be built on trust, dialogue and regional cooperation between Member States, all stakeholders, regional bodies such as HELCOM, and coastal communities to promote practical solutions and knowledge exchange;

52. Calls for a new, regionally adapted approach to the management of risk;

53. Calls for the rules in the MAP to be clarified to make year-to-year flexibility prohibited for stocks below the current Btrigger conservation reference point of the Baltic Sea MAP as currently agreed by the Council;

54. Calls on the Commission to strengthen science-based and proportionate management measures for salmon in the Baltic Sea, ensuring that the ecosystem impacts of herring, sprat and cod fisheries on salmon are properly understood and addressed; urges enhanced monitoring and research to support sustainable salmon management;

55. Emphasises that fisheries management in the EU should be based on European experience, science and regional realities; calls on the Commission to propose regionally adapted rules for the Baltic Sea for actions to be taken automatically when stocks fall below trigger values set in accordance with the precautionary approach, and reiterates that MSY management should be complemented where applicable by measures to differentiate catches according to size and age in the first place; considers that inspiration could be drawn from management practices in other regions such as those of Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States, while ensuring consistency with the EU legal framework;

56. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to strengthen regional cooperation in line with Article 18 of the CFP;

57. Calls for concrete and effective measures ensuring that fish caught in the Baltic Sea are increasingly directed towards direct human consumption, to promote and incentivise local food supply chains;

58. Notes that some Member States in the Baltic Sea region such as Germany and Sweden have introduced national measures to restrict or prohibit bottom trawling in certain marine areas;

59. Calls on the Commission and the Member States for the Baltic Sea to propose halting trawling for fish meal and fish oil during a rebuilding phase, and limiting extractive activities in MPAs; recognises that approaches differ across the Union in the light of specific ecological, legal and socioeconomic contexts; encourages the Member States to continue developing proportionate, sciencebased solutions in cooperation with stakeholders, in particular the fishing sector and coastal communities, to improve marine protection while ensuring the viability of the EU fisheries sector through a just transition;

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60. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and the Commission.