Gdynia: Baltic Sea fishing quotas for 2027 are heading to EU fisheries ministers, and the European Commission’s proposal gives fishers a split verdict: more sprat and herring, but far less room for cod by-catch. The Commission tabled the package on 24 August 2026 and asked the Council to reach political agreement in October, with formal adoption expected in November.

The proposal covers ten stocks that the EU manages. Sprat would rise by 44 percent and Central Baltic herring by 49 percent, while Gulf of Riga herring would gain 11 percent and Bothnian herring 3 percent. Plaice, and salmon in the main basin and the Gulf of Finland, would stay unchanged. For pelagic fleets in Poland, Sweden, Finland and the Baltic states, these Baltic Sea fishing quotas carry the main gains.

The cuts in the Baltic Sea fishing quotas fall on cod and western herring. The Commission wants to lower the unavoidable by-catch limit for Western Baltic cod by 88 percent and for Eastern Baltic cod by 51 percent, and it proposes a 45 percent cut in the by-catch limit for Western Baltic herring. Eastern Baltic cod keeps its existing by-catch limit and accompanying measures, with the figure adjusted to the by-catch volumes that member states reported for 2025.

Other measures in the Baltic Sea fishing quotas sharpen the picture. The text ends the small-scale coastal fishing exemption for Western Baltic herring, which matters to inshore boats that have relied on it. For sprat, the Commission sets the total allowable catch at the maximum level that scientists at the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea recommend, and it drops the three-month spawning-area closure. Recreational fishing for farmed salmon would stop.

Ministers began the 2027 cycle at their meeting on 22 June 2026, where they backed quota decisions built on scientific advice while protecting the long-term resilience and profitability of the EU fleet. They also noted that recovery remains slow for several stocks, especially in the Baltic Sea, the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. That discussion gives the Commission a political basis for tough cod limits, even though coastal communities will feel the loss of income.

Negotiators will watch three points when they weigh the Baltic Sea fishing quotas. The first is whether governments accept the 88 percent cut for Western Baltic cod by-catch. The second is whether coastal fishers keep any herring exemption. The third is whether the removal of the sprat spawning closure survives scrutiny from environmental groups, which tend to press for caution on spawning grounds while fleets argue that the science supports higher catches.

The broader budget talks add pressure. Compromise texts for the 2028 to 2034 funding period would strengthen support for the Common Fisheries Policy, put more emphasis on aquaculture and keep money for fisheries control and catch data collection. Fishing communities therefore face quota decisions and funding decisions at the same time.

If ministers agree this month, the Baltic Sea fishing quotas for 2027 will be ready for formal adoption in November and for use from the new year. If they fail, the Council will carry the file into a later meeting, and Baltic fleets will wait longer for certainty about what they can land.