The Commission's proposals are based on scientific advice and aim to make fisheries in the Baltic Sea environmentally and economically sustainable in the short and long term.
This is in line with the key principles of the recently agreed reform of the Common Fisheries Policy and the Communication concerning Fishing Opportunities published in May.
The Council will secondly hold an exchange of views on the consultations on the fisheries arrangements between the EU and Norway for 2014. Ministers will be invited to comment on the approach to be taken by the Union on the jointly managed shared stocks in the North Sea and Skagerrak, and particularly, on the balance between maximising yield on the one hand, and stability and predictability on the other.
Ministers will also discuss how best to proceed with these consultations and which other stocks could be identified and used for the reciprocal exchange of quotas with Norway.
Thirdly, The Council will also exchange views ahead of the annual meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) to be held in Cape Town, South Africa, on 18-25 November 2013.
The Commission will suggest that the EU should continue to follow the principles of the external dimension of the reformed Common Fisheries Policy at the annual meeting whilst seeking to apply these same principles at home and abroad. Within Regional Fisheries Management Organisations, such as ICCAT, this means better science, better compliance, and better governance in general.
Finally, North-East Atlantic mackerel management and Coastal State negotiations will also be discussed during this October Fisheries Council.
