Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Regulation (EC) No 1098/2007 of 18 September 2007 establishing a multi-annual plan for the cod stocks in the Baltic Sea and the fisheries exploiting those stocks

The plan has as its core objective to ensure that Baltic cod stocks can be exploited under sustainable economic, environmental and social conditions. To attain it, the plan lays down rules for the establishment of the annual fishing opportunities for this stock in terms of total allowable catch and fishing effort.

Such rules use certain technical parameters, by reference to which the stock can be considered to be in better or worse conservation status, therefore closer to or further away from the plan's objective. These parameters are science-based and not a policy choice. Science may evolve and improve, and the plan needs to contain the necessary provisions to ensure it is kept up to date with the best science available.

The plan also requires evaluation of the impact of the management measures on the stocks concerned and on the fisheries concerned. The timeline set in the Regulation in force is neither feasible nor efficient. This requirement encounters considerable difficulties due to the limited availability of relevant data to carry out appropriate assessment. According to scientific advice a full evaluation of 3 year performance of the plan cannot be conducted until 5 years from the commencement of the plan. Consequently, the timeline for evaluation of the plan should be modified.

Additionally, the Commission and Member States signed up to the aim of achieving a maximum sustainable yield (MSY) for depleted stocks by 2015 at the latest, but it is not indicated as an objective of the plan. To avoid any ambiguities in the plan the reference to the maximum sustainable yield should be included in the plan.The objective of this proposal is to amend Council Regulation (EC) No 1098/2007 of 18 September 2007 establishing a multi-annual plan for the cod stocks in the Baltic Sea and the fisheries exploiting those stocks. This act was adopted prior to the entry into force of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).

EUR-Lex: COM(2012)155: Follow the progress of this document through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2012:155:FIN

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