This management plan aims to ensure that Baltic fish stocks are exploited in a sustainable way on the basis of scientific advice.
It proposes a new approach which takes into account environmental effects and biological interactions between those fish stocks.
This plan will constitute a test case for a new generation of multiannual plans designed on the basis of principles jointly agreed between the Council and the European Parliament.
Minister Janis Duklavs noted that: "The political agreement reached today in the Council will make possible the launch of negotiations with the European Parliament on this management plan in the coming weeks."
European Commissioner for Environment, Fisheries and Maritime Affairs Karmenu Vella said: "This plan is very important for us. It is the first multiannual plan to be adopted under the new Common Fisheries Policy and a litmus test for the basic precepts of the policy itself. It is based on scientific advice, it is decided at regional level and it maintains an inherent flexibility that addresses the changing reality on the ground."
