The European Commission has proposed a cut to the annual EU quota for turbot in the Black Sea in 2015 by 15%, to 74 tonnes.
The Commission has also proposed to keep the EU quota for sprat unchanged at 11,475 tonnes.
The proposal – based on the advice by the Commission’s Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) – will now be discussed by EU ministers at the December Fisheries Council.
Bulgaria and Romania are the only two Member States concerned by the proposals. The EU quota for turbot is divided evenly between the two counties, whilst for sprat Bulgaria and Romania’s national quotas are set respectively at 70% and 30% of the total EU quota.
The Commission says it is promoting a regional approach to fisheries management in the Black Sea. Last year, a set of measures affecting the turbot fishery were adopted in the framework of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM), and the work on establishing a management plan for turbot in the region will continue in 2015.
Mercator Media Ltd 2014