European Council Adopts 2019 Catch Limits for Black Sea Fisheries of Bulgaria and Romania

Next year Bulgarian and Romanian fishermen in the Black Sea will be able to continue fishing at the same levels as in 2018.

The Council today adopted a regulation setting the 2019 catch limits for the commercially most important fish stocks in the Black Sea. The regulation affects Bulgaria and Romania.

In particular, the Council decided to confirm the Commission proposal to roll-over the catch limit for sprat for Romania and Bulgaria at 11 475t.

For turbot, the Council set a total allowable catch (TAC) fully in line with the level established by the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) in its recommendation on a multiannual management plan for the whole Black Sea turbot fisheries (644t), resulting in an EU TAC of 114t  which is  equally shared between Bulgaria and Romania. Fishing will be limited to 180 days per year and there will be a complete ban over a 2-month period (15 April - 15 June) to allow for the recovery of turbot.

These figures are based on the best available scientific advice coming from the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF), and comply with the principles of the reformed Common Fisheries Policy (CFP).

Black Sea stocks exploited by Bulgaria and Romania are shared with non-EU countries, e.g. Turkey, Ukraine, Georgia and the Russian Federation. Until 2017 no TACs had been decided at regional level between EU and non-EU countries, and every year since 2008, the European Union had been...