[Digest] The multiannual plan for the Baltic Sea. A change in management needed

A background analysis, produced as part of the accompanying expertise for the implementation report ‘The multiannual plan for the Baltic Sea and ways forward’, was presented on 4 September 2025. The presentation mainly focused on:

• the evolution of the state of Baltic fish stocks and the main factors affecting them
• the fisheries management system in the Baltic Sea
• the political process behind the adoption of the multiannual plan for the Baltic Sea

The presentation showed that the Baltic multiannual plan failed to restore depleted cod and herring stocks. This is mainly due to pre-existing low biomass, worsening environmental conditions, assessment uncertainties, and political non-compliance with scientific advice. The analysis recommends improvements for more effective, regionally adapted future fisheries management in the Baltic Sea.

The presentation was followed by an interesting exchange with the Members, in what one Member called ‘a crisis meeting’.