EU agrees higher Baltic herring and sprat quotas for 2026

Polish fishermen will be allowed to catch more herring and sprat in the Baltic Sea next year, with no further restrictions on accidental cod bycatch, according to Beata Płomecka, Polish Radio’s Brussels correspondent.

EU ministers have agreed to raise 2026 Baltic Sea fishing quotas, increasing sprat catches by 45% and herring by 15%, while bycatch limits for cod remain unchanged.

Photo: Fotogra/Unsplash.com/CC0

The agreement on fishing quotas was reached by EU agriculture and fisheries ministers after negotiations that began yesterday.

Sprat quotas were increased by 45%, while herring catches in the central Baltic will rise by 15%.

Bycatch of cod - incidental catches of the species, which has been off-limits to targeted fishing since 2019 - will remain at current levels.

The deal represents a major improvement over the European Commission’s initial proposal, which had called for cuts of more than 63% in the eastern Baltic and up to 84% in the western Baltic.

Dobra wiadomość dla polskich rybaków - będą mogli łowić więcej śledzi i szprotów na Bałtyku w przyszłym roku w porównaniu z obecnym. Nie będzie też dalszych ograniczeń przyłowów dorszy (czyli przypadkowych połowów, samych dorszy rybacy nie mogą łowić od 2019) @PR24_pl https://t.co/qABZ5oysbo

— Beata Płomecka (@bplomecka) October 28, 2025

Read more about this topic:

• EU proposes cuts to Baltic fishing quotas, raising concerns for Polish fishers
• Poland presses EU to lift 2026 Baltic fishing limits, disputes scale of cuts

(mp)

Source: IAR/PR24/X/@bplomecka