Advice & Recommendations

This joint recommendation on stakeholder engagement in advice requests was approved with consensus by the NSAC, LDAC, PelAC, NWWAC, SWWAC and BSAC Executive Committees on 29 October 2024 via written procedure

The BSAC notes that the ICES advice on herring in SDs 30-31 was published on 16^th September 2024.

The BSAC has agreed on a general recommendation with regard to this stock in June 2024. The BSAC recommended an increased sampling programme so that more and better-quality data can be gathered on herring in SDs 30-31.

The recommendations presented in the recommendations were agreed by the Executive Committee by fast-track written procedure on 19^th October 2024.

The original HELCOM recommendations on salmon and sea trout are being revised,
with Recommendation 32-33/1 focusing specifically on salmon. Another HELCOM
Recommendation will focus on sea trout and will be drafted at a later stage.

The Baltic Sea Advisory Council (BSAC) welcomes the HELCOM review of its
recommendations on Baltic Salmon conservation and would like to contribute to this
work with the presented input.

The BSAC members have carefully considered the HELCOM draft submitted to the
HELCOM Expert Group on Migratory Fish on the 23rd and 24th September and
formulated a set of comments.

The draft Joint Recommendation presents fisheries conservation measures in five marine protected areas.

There is no common BSAC agreed position on the topic.

The BSAC members were consulted, and one reply was received from the Swedish Society for Nature and Conservation.

The BSAC takes note of the Commission’s Communication and accompanying Staff Working Document. The BSAC is hereby providing, as requested by the Commission, comments to the Commission’s Communication and the accompanying Staff Working Document.

With the letter ARES (2024)2860492, dated 18^th April. 2024, the BSAC was encouraged to contribute to the public consultation and the call for evidence.

The BSAC Executive Committee decided to provide general comments to the consultation as the “Have your say” format was not thought to be appropriate in the context of a diverse organisation like the BSAC.

Five years from the full operationalisation of the landing obligation, the Commission is gathering evidence to support the evaluation of the landing obligation in terms of meeting the objectives of the 2013 reformed Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). For this, a questionnaire was set up to aid in the collection and validation of existing data already gathered.

The BSAC replied to the questionnaire by submitting the attached document. 

BSAC recommendations for the fishery in the Baltic Sea in 2025.

Translations are available in:

• Polish: BSACrecommendationsfisheriesBalticin2025_PL
• German: BSACrecommendationsfisheryBalticin2025 (1)_DE
• Swedish: BSACrecommendationsfisheryBalticin2025 (1)_SE
• Lithuanian: BSACrecommendationsfisheryBalticin2025_LT

The BSAC raised specific concerns with the study, in particular regarding the initial survey on which it was based.

The Commission’s answer was received on the 10th July 2024.

This document presents the BSAC recommendations on a shortlist of actions from the Commission Communication on CFP today and tomorrow: a Fisheries and Oceans Pact towards sustainable, science-based, innovative and inclusive fisheries management identified by BSAC ExCom to be relevant for BSAC.

BSAC already delivered its recommendations on the EU Action Plan in December 2023, these recommendations focus on the CFP Communication. It has been prepared based on discussions in the EBM WG in October 2023 and in the Demersal, Pelagic and EBW WG in February and March 2023.

The Executive Committee has given a new mandate to the Focus Group on rules of procedure to look into proposing a suitable BSAC definition of small-scale fishing vessels as well as indicators to establish what share such vessels would represent of a Member State’s fishing fleet.

The FG met on the 5^th March and has proposed a letter to be addressed to the Member States representatives.

The Executive Committee validated the letter that was subsequently sent on the 3rd April 2024.

The BSAC provided input on various aspects of the MAP evaluation. The replies to and results of the survey will be used to inform the Commission’s implementation report.