Agreement reached on 2025 fishing opportunities for the Baltic Sea

The Council of the European Union reached a political agreement on the fishing opportunities in the Baltic Sea for 2025, following the Commission proposal made in August this year.

The Council has adopted the total allowable catch (TAC) proposals for several key stocks, including sprat (-31%) and plaice (rollover). For eastern cod and western cod, the Council has decided to set by-catch TACs only, so fishing will remain limited to accidental catches while targeting other species. Western Baltic herring will, in principle, also have a bycatch-only TAC, but the Council maintained an exception for small-scale coastal fishers. Catches of salmon in the main basin are also limited to by-catches, except during the summer in the coastal areas of the Aland Sea and the Gulf of Bothnia. The agreement allows considerable increases in catches of Bothnian herring (+21%), Riga herring (+10%), and central Baltic herring (+108%).

The Council followed the Commission’s proposal on numerous elements. However, the Commission is concerned that some elements of the agreement are less likely to contribute to the recovery of certain stocks than the Commission proposal and may not be in line with the applicable legal framework, including the Baltic multiannual plan. This is the case for the total allowable catches (TACs) for sprat and western herring, as well as continued targeted commercial fisheries for western Baltic herring and recreational fisheries for main basin salmon.

Overall, the dire environmental state of the Baltic Sea leads to the pressing need to fully implement the EU legislation at all levels in an effective and systematic manner.  

Table: Overview of TAC changes 2024-2025

More information 

Council political agreement

Council agreement on 2025 catch limits in the Baltic Sea

Commission proposal for the fishing opportunities for 2025 in the Baltic Sea