Night agreement on fishing in the Baltic Sea

After a day and a half of negotiations, an agreement was reached at 01.30.

At that time, the fisheries managers of the Baltic Sea countries, for the most part, had added a little to what the European Commission had proposed in advance.

– Starting from a Swedish position, I am very satisfied with the outcome of the negotiations. It took a long time and it sat deep inside, Rural Affairs Minister Jennie Nilsson (S) tells TT and Ekot in the dead of night in Luxembourg.

– We have received very close quotas or on the Commission proposal, believes Nilsson.

Higher share of cod

This still includes that the cod quota in the western Baltic Sea has increased by 5 percent compared to last year, despite the fact that the European Commission wanted a reduction of 11 percent and several environmental organizations wanted to go down to 20 percent.

Acceptable, still thinks the Minister of Rural Affairs.

– Our assessment is that the proposal that was the commitment is within the framework of what can be considered sustainable fishing and also with a good margin. So we had no problem setting it up.

TT: But is it good?

– Yes, I think it’s reasonable.

Game closure

Jennie Nilsson is more clearly satisfied with the rules that can now apply to the fishing ban that lasts while the cod is spawning. Sweden wanted changes so that the shutdown would not simultaneously affect coastal fishing in areas where cod do not spawn.

– There is now a proposal on the table that means that it will be possible to fish for human consumption in much better conditions than last year’s proposal, says Jennie Nilsson in Luxembourg.

Victor Nummelin / TT