EU Fisheries Ministers Reach Agreement on 2025 Catch Quotas for North Sea and North Atlantic
After lengthy negotiations, the EU’s fisheries ministers have agreed on the total allowable catches for 2025 in the North Sea, North Atlantic, and other waters. The timely pre-agreements with the United Kingdom and Norway on fishing possibilities have provided planning security, the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture announced on Wednesday.
Stability is ensured for the protective measures for eel, with the existing regulations from this year to be continued. This includes, in particular, a six-month moratorium, which the member states in the North Sea will still need to finalize, and a ban on recreational fishing for eel in the marine waters. The Baltic Sea border states will again be required to agree on a joint regulation for the coming year. If this agreement fails, a uniform moratorium will apply from September 15, 2025, to March 15, 2026.
“The results of the negotiations are largely based on the scientific recommendations, and the sustainable management of the North Sea will be continued in this way” said State Secretary Silvia Bender (Greens). “We consider the set catch quota for cod in the North Sea to be too high, and the rebuilding of the southern stock could be delayed as a result. However, the continuation of the measures for eel is a good and sensible compromise.”
To promote the preservation of this unique stock, attention must also be paid to other factors affecting the poor state of the eel stock, such as the navigability of rivers.
Regarding cod, the BMEL had advocated for a catch quota set in accordance with the precautionary principle. However, in the international negotiations, a lower catch quota could not be achieved.
On the other hand, the catch quotas for herring and plaice in the North Sea will be reduced in line with the scientific recommendations, following the increases in the previous year, while those for saithe and sole will increase. The mackerel stock is overfished, according to the Ministry, by Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the United Kingdom, and the catch quota must therefore be significantly reduced.
In addition to the quotas for the North Sea and North Atlantic, catch possibilities for the Mediterranean and Black Sea were also agreed upon.