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October 20, 2026

Newsletter

The European Post

Policy • Diplomacy • strategic insight

LATEST
EU-UK Summit Hangs On Youth Scheme And Carbon Market LinkBlack Sea Shipping Attacks Put EU Maritime Hub To The TestStock Options Split Governments Over EU Inc 28th Regime MandateCouncil Seals Return Regulation With Return Hubs And Entry BansParcel Handling Fee Lands By 1 November On Low-Value EU ImportsIndia Trade Agreement Heads Into The Council’s Signing QueueBosnia EU Accession Stays Frozen After A Record Low Turnout VoteForeign Investment Screening Regulation Binds Every StateImporters Face EU Deforestation Regulation On 30 DecemberMînzatu Pushes The EU Anti-Poverty Strategy Toward 2030EU Budget Fraud Protection Shifts To National Anti-Fraud ServicesCohesion Policy Row Splits Fitto And Regions Over The 2028 BudgetIn-Game Virtual Currencies Draw EU Action Against Nine StudiosAnnual Euro Area Inflation Hits 3.8 percent As Energy Prices ClimbFRTB Market Risk Rules Await Parliament Scrutiny Before 2027EDIP Defence Funding Backs Eight Plants Making Missile FuelInnovation Act Lets Start-Ups Borrow Against Patents And IP RightsPublic Procurement Act Replaces Three Directives With One RuleGeorgia EU Candidate Status Frays After Parliament Sanctions CallIndonesia EU CEPA Signing Hinges On GSP Deadline And Text LanguageEU-UK Summit Hangs On Youth Scheme And Carbon Market LinkBlack Sea Shipping Attacks Put EU Maritime Hub To The TestStock Options Split Governments Over EU Inc 28th Regime MandateCouncil Seals Return Regulation With Return Hubs And Entry BansParcel Handling Fee Lands By 1 November On Low-Value EU ImportsIndia Trade Agreement Heads Into The Council’s Signing QueueBosnia EU Accession Stays Frozen After A Record Low Turnout VoteForeign Investment Screening Regulation Binds Every StateImporters Face EU Deforestation Regulation On 30 DecemberMînzatu Pushes The EU Anti-Poverty Strategy Toward 2030EU Budget Fraud Protection Shifts To National Anti-Fraud ServicesCohesion Policy Row Splits Fitto And Regions Over The 2028 BudgetIn-Game Virtual Currencies Draw EU Action Against Nine StudiosAnnual Euro Area Inflation Hits 3.8 percent As Energy Prices ClimbFRTB Market Risk Rules Await Parliament Scrutiny Before 2027EDIP Defence Funding Backs Eight Plants Making Missile FuelInnovation Act Lets Start-Ups Borrow Against Patents And IP RightsPublic Procurement Act Replaces Three Directives With One RuleGeorgia EU Candidate Status Frays After Parliament Sanctions CallIndonesia EU CEPA Signing Hinges On GSP Deadline And Text Language

Baltic Sea Fishing Quotas For 2027 Propose Deep Cuts To Cod Catches

Tómas Garðarsson
Policy Monitor, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries

Rostock: Baltic Sea fishing quotas for 2027 are about to reach ministers, and the Commission’s proposal asks for deep cuts to cod and western herring while allowing larger catches of sprat and central Baltic herring. The Commission adopted the proposal on 24 August 2026, and fisheries ministers aim for political agreement at the Agriculture and Fisheries Council on 26 and 27 October.

The sharpest change in the Baltic Sea fishing quotas hits western cod. The proposed total allowable catch falls from 266 tonnes to 31 tonnes, a cut of 88 percent. Eastern cod drops from 430 tonnes to 211 tonnes, a fall of 51 percent. Scientists at the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea describe both cod stocks as being in poor condition, so the Commission sees little room to manoeuvre. The proposal also trims the limits for cod bycatch, using the bycatch levels reported in 2025 as its guide.

Western herring faces a cut of 45 percent, from 788 tonnes to 437 tonnes. ICES says the stock is significantly below minimum levels. The Commission therefore wants the quota to cover only unavoidable bycatch and proposes to remove the exemption that small-scale coastal fisheries have enjoyed. That choice will matter in coastal communities where small boats fish close to shore and have few alternatives.

Other Baltic Sea fishing quotas tell a more hopeful story. The proposed quota for central Baltic herring rises by 49 percent to 143,860 tonnes, and the stock has grown although it still sits below sustainable levels. Sprat climbs by 44 percent to 291,590 tonnes, since ICES reports that the stock has grown significantly and the Commission sets the quota at the advised maximum. Bothnian herring edges up by 3 percent to 57,308 tonnes, and the proposal keeps fishing pressure stable.

Plaice stays unchanged at 10,973 tonnes. ICES advice pointed to a slight increase, but the Commission holds the limit because individual fish are in poor condition. New flatfish measures introduced last year aim to reduce unwanted cod catches, and the Commission wants to see how they work before it changes the plaice quota. Salmon limits also stay unchanged, with 25,537 fish in the Main Basin and 10,232 in the Gulf of Finland.

The proposal adds rules beyond tonnage. Recreational fishing for reared salmon would stop. The three-month spawning closure in shallow coastal waters would stay in place for Bothnian and central Baltic herring, yet it would end for sprat. Each of these details will draw comment from national delegations, since the Baltic Sea fishing quotas shape the income of fleets from Denmark to Finland.

On the Baltic Sea fishing quotas, ministers face a familiar balance. They must respect scientific advice while protecting coastal jobs, and the cod numbers leave almost no space for compromise. Governments that want higher western herring limits will need to show why ICES advice should give way, an argument that rarely succeeds in this forum.

The Council expects to adopt the final regulation formally in November 2026, once ministers settle the political deal. Fleets will then plan their 2027 season around the numbers, and the Baltic Sea fishing quotas will decide which ports see a good year and which face another lean one.

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