Black Sea fisheries: Council decides on 2017 catch limits

On 12 December 2016 the Council agreed on the fishing opportunities for the commercially most important fish stocks in the Black Sea in 2017. This decision affects Bulgaria and Romania.

In particular the Council decided to confirm the Commission proposal to have a roll-over of the 2016 total allowable catches (TACs) into 2017. This means that in 2017 Bulgarian and Romanian fishermen will be able to catch up to 11 475 tonnes for sprat and 86.4 tonnes for turbot.

The agreement is based on the best available scientific advice and on the principles of the reformed Common Fisheries Policy (CFP).

Background

Black Sea stocks exploited by Bulgaria and Romania are shared with non-EU countries, e.g. Turkey, Ukraine, Georgia and Russian Federation. There are however no TACs decided at regional level between EU i and non-EU countries. Every year since 2008 the European Union has been fixing autonomous quotas for turbot and sprat stocks in order to help ensure that the CFP rules are applied.

Under article 43(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), it is for the Council to adopt measures on the fixing and allocation of fishing opportunities within the framework of the common fisheries policy. The European Parliament's participation and the Economic and Social Committee's opinion are therefore not required for the adoption of this regulation.

Next steps

This item will be included, following finalisation by the legal/linguistic experts, in part "A" of the agenda for adoption by the Council on 19 December 2016.