Overfishing threat to the Baltic Ecoregion

Fishing is the main threat to Baltic fish stocks. Damaging fishing practices, high levels of by-catch, and illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing all lead to habitat degradation.

This has has pushed the wild Baltic salmon and the Eastern cod population to all-time lows, a situation which is severely affecting the economic viability of small scale fisheries.

By-catch of harbour porpoise has brought the population of the only Baltic cetacean down to near extinction.

WWF's Baltic Ecoregion Programme is working with governments, consumers and the fishing industry to promote sustainable fishing practices, establish no take zones and support economically viable fisheries through legislative and market incentives.

Fish Species
Salinity in the Baltic Sea ranges from about two-thirds of oceanic water (in the western Baltic) to nearly fresh water in the Gulf of Bothnia. This has a major influence on fish stocks. Marine species, such as cod, herring and sprat are most commonly found in the south-western and central waters. In the north freshwater species such as pike and perch are prevalent.

Fishing activities
Commercially, the most important stocks in the Baltic Sea are cod, herring, sprat and salmon. There are also catches in commercial quantities of various flatfishes (flounder, plaice, turbot, dab and brill) and sea trout. Freshwater species (pike and perch) are important in coastal fisheries in the central and northern Baltic.

Even though driftnet fishing has been banned in all EU waters, a rule of exception allows this technique to be used for salmon fishing in the Baltic Sea until 2008. Because this technique has a significant level of bycatch (incidental catch of other species, especially harbour purpoises), it is highly questionable that this technique can be regarded as sustainable.

Status of stocks
After an increase in the cod stock in the Eastern Baltic Sea due to huge saline water inflow and an expansion in the fisheries in the 1970s and early 1980s, the stock declined dramatically from 1985 to 1992. The last ten-year's stock has been below the long-term average. So a recovery of the stock can hardly be expected under the present exploitation pattern and tendency for fishing mortality to increase. In the Western Baltic, the most recent assessments have shown that the spawning stock biomass is declining and the fishing mortality is increasing to previous high levels.

It is therefore recommended by ICES that a precautionary approach, including reductions in fishing effort, is needed if the Eastern stock is to recover on a more permanent basis. This has resulted in a recommended Total Allowable Catch (TAC) of 0 for Eastern cod in both 2002 and 2003. It is the second time within recent years that a moratorium on Baltic Sea cod has been suggested.

Because the dioxin content of Baltic salmon is above the level considered by EU standards to be safe for human consumption, a temporary ban on Danish salmon fisheries in the Baltic Sea was imposed in April 2004.

The overall complex of wild salmon stock is considered to be outside safe biological limits. There are only 30-40 rivers in the Baltic areas that produce wild salmon smolt. It is estimated that only 10 to 15 percent of smolt production is from wild stock.