Members of the European Parliament are drawing attention to the deteriorating ecological condition of the Baltic Sea. A report has been prepared on the issue, calling on the European Commission and Member States to take urgent action. According to MEP Piotr Müller, however, the report focused too heavily on fishing and pressure from the fishing industry. He argues that instead of pushing radical solutions and introducing automatic cuts to fishing quotas, greater attention should be paid to pollution and the presence of predators. During a vote in the European Parliament, MEPs supported some of his amendments.
According to data published in March 2026 by Poland’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, fish consumption in Poland stood at just under 14 kg per capita in 2025. This remains below the EU average, but the trend is upward. Poland remains one of the main fish-processing centres in the European Union. Annual production exceeds 680,000 tonnes and is worth PLN 18.7 billion, with a significant share going to foreign markets.
Data from Statistics Poland show that in 2025, 71,600 tonnes of fish were caught in Baltic fishing grounds, accounting for 48.3% of total catches. This was 5.1% less than in 2024. Polish fishermen caught mostly sprat — 41,000 tonnes, or 60.4% of total marine catches.
“It is important to reconcile protection of the Baltic Sea with maintaining jobs in Pomerania. In our case, the fishing sector is very important. Unfortunately, the report presented in the European Parliament directly blames fishermen in many areas for what is happening in the Baltic Sea. This is a huge oversimplification, and we absolutely do not agree with it,” Piotr Müller, Member of the European Parliament from Law and Justice, told Newseria.
The report in question concerns the multiannual plan for the Baltic Sea and further action. It was adopted in April this year by the European Parliament’s Committee on Fisheries. The explanatory statement says that the Baltic Sea is in crisis and that the way it is treated requires urgent change. It stresses that Baltic cod, once abundant in the region, has suffered a dramatic collapse, while the biomass of commercial fish stocks is at historically low levels. For this reason, according to the authors of the report, the Baltic Sea should become a pilot area for a new and comprehensive ecosystem management approach.
“I submitted more than 80 amendments to this report in various areas, including to point to other factors that are causing the poor condition of the Baltic Sea. These include various types of municipal wastewater flowing into the Baltic from different countries, weapons lying on the seabed, as well as predators which, unfortunately, interfere with fish stocks and cause shoals to shrink,” the MEP emphasises.
In his opinion, the version of the report adopted by the committee addressed these areas too narrowly.
“I have the impression that the report mainly focuses on attacking fishermen. We do not accept this. We want a balance between how the Baltic Sea can be used — in the positive sense of the word — and its ecological balance,” Piotr Müller stresses.
During the plenary session on 21 May, MEPs adopted the report and supported some of the amendments submitted by Müller. As he stated on his website, he voted against the document as a whole because several of its elements could be harmful to the sector. The final document nevertheless specifies that the difficult condition of the ecosystem is the result of a complex combination of many factors.
The report points out, among other things, that since the end of the Second World War, tens of thousands of tonnes of conventional and chemical weapons have remained on the Baltic seabed. These contain hazardous substances, including chemical warfare agents such as sulphur mustard, commonly known as mustard gas, tear gas and nerve agents. As a result of corrosion, they gradually release dangerous chemicals into the marine environment, leading to contamination, ecosystem damage and loss of biodiversity.
“We must eliminate this threat. That is why, in my amendments, I proposed, among other things, a pilot programme to clean the Baltic seabed of pollution left over from the Second World War,” Piotr Müller explains.
Another issue is the presence of predators in the Baltic ecosystem. The European Parliament report stresses that grey seals and great cormorants may have a significant impact on the survival of young cod, especially Atlantic cod in the western part of the Baltic Sea, as well as on fish stocks, aquaculture and fishing gear. According to the MEP, an appropriate and selective approach to predators in the Baltic is needed. He also emphasised the need to act to reduce the inflow of pollution and to secure EU support for the expansion of wastewater treatment plants and the prevention of sewage network failures.
“All this can protect fish populations so that fishermen can use them through catches and ensure our food security. Fish are an important part of the Polish diet, and if we do not catch them in a healthy, clean Baltic Sea, we will have to buy them from all over the world,” the Law and Justice MEP notes.
During the May debate in the European Parliament, Piotr Müller called for a shift away from annual fishing quotas towards a multiannual system. In his view, such a solution would give fishermen and processors greater predictability and the ability to plan their business activity over a longer period. He also appealed for fishing quotas to take into account not only environmental objectives, but also the situation of coastal communities.
“Another important issue is how fishing limits should be regulated. Some people proposed closing fishing opportunities in the Baltic Sea. We do not agree with that. We believe there are other ways to protect fish populations in the Baltic Sea while also maintaining the possibility of continued use,” he says.
The report adopted by MEPs on 21 May includes, among other things, issues related to clearing the seabed of chemical weapons, expanding infrastructure and addressing sewage system failures. The document also calls on the Commission and Member States to take urgent action, including an analysis of quota allocation and its potential impact on the sustainability of fish stocks, in order to avoid a further decline in their numbers.
MEPs also called for an assessment and possible revision of the multiannual management plan for the Baltic Sea, arguing that neither its environmental nor socio-economic objectives have been achieved.
“It turns out that some countries turn a blind eye to inspections in other fishing grounds. Meanwhile, various organisations are active in the Baltic Sea and, in a very radical way, simply harass fishermen — this has to be said directly. This makes the profitability of the business and the climate around running it very poor. It discourages new generations from entering the fishing business, which in the future will lead to a decline in the number of people with the skills needed to do this,” the MEP argues.
Statistics Poland reports that at the end of last year, the Polish fishing fleet consisted of 663 vessels and boats — 8% fewer than in 2024.
