Nyhavn 16, 4 sal 1051 Copenhagen (Denmark) Phone: + 45 33151160 Fisheries management in the Baltic Sea [email protected] baltic.oceana.org How to get on track to a sustainable future in Baltic fisheries Rue Montoyer, 39 1000 Brussels (Belgium) Tel.: + 32 (0) 2 513 22 42 Fax: + 32 (0) 2 513 22 46 [email protected] Plaza de España - Leganitos, 47 28013 Madrid (Spain) Tel.: + 34 911 440 880 Fax: + 34 911 440 890 [email protected] www.oceana.org 1350 Connecticut Ave., NW, 5th Floor Washington D.C., 20036 (USA) Tel.: + 1 (202) 833 3900 Fax: + 1 (202) 833 2070 [email protected] 33 Cor. Regent and Dean St. Belize City, Belize, C.A. Tel.: + 501 227 2705 Fax: + 501 227 2706 [email protected] Av. Condell 520, Providencia, Santiago (Chile) CP 7500875 Tel.: + 56 2 925 5600 Fax: + 56 2 925 5610 [email protected] Fisheries management in the Baltic Sea This publication and all related research was completed by Oceana. Project Directors • Xavier Pastor, Anne Schroeer Authors • Anne Schroeer, Andrzej Białaś, Hanna Paulomäki, Christina Abel Geographic Information Systems • Jorge Ubero Editor • Marta Madina, Hanna Paulomäki Editorial Assistants • Angela Pauly, Ángeles Sáez, Natividad Sánchez, Martyna Lapinskaite Cover • Finnish trawler in the Bothnian Sea, Sweden. April 2011. © OCEANA/ Carlos Minguell Contents • Artisanal fishing vessels on the beach of Kśty Rybackie, Poland. April 2011. © OCEANA/ LX Design and layout • NEO Estudio Gráfico, S.L. Photo montage and printer • Imprenta Roal, S.L. Acknowledgments • This report was made possible thanks to the generous support of the Arcadia Foundation, Zennström Philanthropies and the Robertson Foundation. Portions of this report are intellectual property of ESRI and its licensors and are used under license. Copyright © ESRI and its licensors. Reproduction of the information gathered in this report is permitted as long as © OCEANA is cited as the source. March 2012 Artisanal fishing vessel on the beach, Piaski, Poland. April 2011. © OCEANA/ LX Contents Executive summary 02 1. Introduction: Fisheries in the Baltic Sea 05 1.1. Baltic fishing countries, species and fisheries management 06 1.2. The Baltic fishing fleet 13 2. The biggest problems 18 2.1. Overfishing, destructive and problematic fishing methods 19 2.2. Unmanaged fisheries 26 2.3. Threatened fish species and their fisheries 30 3. IUU fishing in the Baltic Sea and the Kattegat 35 4. Cod 41 4.1. Cod fisheries and management in the Baltic Sea and the Kattegat 42 4.2. IUU fishing for cod in the Baltic Sea and the Kattegat 44 5. Salmon and sea trout 49 5.1. Salmon and sea trout fisheries and management in the Baltic Sea and the Kattegat 50 5.2. IUU fishing for salmon and sea trout in the Baltic Sea and the Kattegat 52 6. Herring and sprat 59 6.1. Herring and sprat fisheries and management in the Baltic Sea and the Kattegat 60 6.2. IUU fishing for herring and sprat in the Baltic Sea and the Kattegat 61 7. Recreational fisheries 64 7.1. Unreported recreational fisheries in the Baltic Sea and the Kattegat 65 7.2. Poaching 66 8. Conclusions and recommendations 70 References 75 Executive summary Artisanal fishing vessels at the beach of Sopot, Poland. April 2011. © OCEANA/ LX 2 Fisheries management in the Baltic Sea A multitude of human activities have IUU fishing for cod in the Eastern Baltic put the Baltic Sea ecosystems under se- Sea has declined in the past years after vere pressure and turned this brackish, increased monitoring, control and sur- semi-enclosed sea into one of the most veillance efforts, but the problem is not polluted in the world. Destructive fish- solved overall and the percentage of un- ing practices like dredging and bottom reported catches is still very high in cer- trawling pose heavy threats to these tain fisheries. The worst examples right sensitive ecosystems. Oceana’s report now include Baltic salmon and sea trout on fisheries outlines the biggest prob- and cod in the Kattegat. lems related to fisheries in the Baltic Sea and shows that the problem of Ille- During the 2011 at-sea expedition and gal, Unregulated and Unreported (IUU) harbour research, Oceana document- fishing remains a problem. The report ed a number of unsustainable fishing also provides an overview of issues on practices. The findings included sev- the political agenda in European Union eral large fishing vessels still officially and discusses the need for improved registered as driftnetters, even though fisheries management and the imple- the driftnet ban in the Baltic Sea has mentation of agreed commitments, like been in force since 2008. Additionally achieving Maximum Sustainable Yields several “semi-driftnetters” were docu- Fishing net with float and rollers in the port (MSY) for all fish stocks by 2015 as a mented that use driftnets which are of Rønne, Bornholm, Denmark. March 2011. first step towards a sustainable fisheries anchored on one side making it legal, © OCEANA/ LX management, and legal obligations, like as this type of driftnet was excluded achieving Good Environmental Status from the driftnet ban but nevertheless of all marine environments, including has the same by-catch problem as con- Baltic Sea by 2020. ventional driftnets. Other findings in- cluded the unloading of cod in April in Over 50 species of fish are commer- the Western Baltic Sea and in July and cially caught in the Baltic Sea and the August in the Eastern Baltic Sea, despite Kattegat, for which only 10 of have the fact that fisheries in those months been given scientific advice, and only and areas are “closed” to preserve the five are managed with Total Allowable cod stocks. Fish was also spotted be- Catch (TAC) in the Baltic Sea. While ing sold directly to consumers, inside the status of the eastern Baltic cod stock and outside closed seasons, before or has improved over the last years, other without being inspected to verify catch stocks have not been as successful: most amounts. Furthermore, Oceana found of the Baltic fish stocks are overfished, it unacceptable that almost all Baltic and for five of these (sea trout, floun- sprat and an enormous amount of Baltic der, turbot, brill and dab) scientific ad- herring is caught for fishmeal and ani- vice to limit fisheries has been ignored. mal food, destined for highly controver- Additionally, in the case of salmon in sial mink farms. These types of fisher- particular, the TAC was set twice as ies are unsustainable as they are carried high as the scientific advice recom- out by large scale fishing vessels using mended. Despite the fact that salmon, very small mesh sizes which often take sea trout and eel are all threatened and non-target and undersized fish. declining, they remain continuously commercially fished. 3 Recreational catches are high in the plication of the precautionary approach. Baltic Sea and have often been under- Besides better management, which estimated in earlier years. Yet in cer- must also include the management of tain areas, like the Sound and in the all fish species caught, more stringent Kattegat, recreational catches are esti- monitoring, control and surveillance in mated to amount to up to 50% or more all Baltic Sea countries is needed, and of commercial catches. In German Bal- catch reporting and fisheries manage- tic coast, there are over 80 active cut- ment must include recreational fisher- ters (“Fischkutter”), a lot of which are ies. The selectivity of fishing gear needs longer than 24 metres, that offer angling to be improved and destructive fishing on a daily basis during most of the year like bottom trawls has to be changed to for up to 50 anglers a day - a practice prevent detrimental effects on the sea called “trolling” in commercial fisher- bottom as well as by-catch and discards. ies. These fisheries are almost entirely Finally, marine protected areas should unregulated and catches are not includ- provide sanctuaries for fish, while also ed in quota amounts. shielding ecosystems from the effects of destructive fishing practices. Oceana For the Baltic Sea’s depleted fish stocks finds it unacceptable that damaging to recover, Oceana calls for the imple- activities, like trawling and dredging, mentation of an ecosystem based fisher- are still allowed inside many marine ies management, taking into account the protected areas in the Baltic Sea. entire sensitive ecosystem, and the ap- Artisanal fishing vessel, Piaski, Poland. April 2011. © OCEANA LX 4 Danish trawler Kingfisher, unloading cod and flounder in Fisheries management in the Baltic Sea the port of Hel, Poland. March 2011. © OCEANA/ LX 1. Introduction: Fisheries in the Baltic Sea 5 1.1. Baltic fishing countries, Medieval era. At that time, herring was species and fisheries also considered to be the largest fishery management in the whole of Europe. The environ- mental situation in the Baltic Sea has Fisheries have always been an integral drastically changed in the 20th century part of cultures for the people living with dramatically increased fish land- around the Baltic Sea. Records show ings2,3 and increased pressure from hu- that fishing activities were conducted man activities4. After the Second World along the Baltic Sea coast since well War rapid industrialisation had a major before the Middle Ages. Some of the impact on fishing in the Baltic. Small best documented long-term fisheries fisheries-based communities gradually in Europe are those in the Sound and began to vanish and, because more and Bohuslän regions in the Western Baltic more advanced technologies were in- Sea and Skagerrak, all targeting herring troduced, the numbers of fishing vessels (Clupea harengus)1, which was the most and professional fishermen have been abundant and important species in the continually decreasing5.