The European Commission believes that the Baltic MAP is a helpful long-term tool for implementing the common fisheries policy (CFP), particularly for providing more precision and certainty when setting fishing opportunities. The MAP includes a safety net for stocks in difficulties and certain flexibility for healthy stocks.
The EC notes the poor situation of the Baltic’s ecosystem, which leads to the deterioration of fish stocks, making the implementation of the MAP increasingly challenging.
There are indications of misreporting of catches of pelagic species, which might weaken the accuracy of the stock assessment and contribute to overfishing.
The report benefitted from consultations with all interested actors in the sea basin, including the industry, national administrations, and NGOs. Interested actors expressed a wide range of different views.
Background
MAPs are a tool to implement the EU’s common fisheries policy (CFP) objectives in the long-term. They establish conditions for setting of fishing opportunities, conservation measures, the implementation of the landing obligation, and regional cooperation. The European Commission has the obligation to report on their implementation.
The MAP for the Baltic Sea was adopted in 2016 and the EC published a first implementation report in September 2020.
