Goal 14 - Life below water

The indicator specifices amount of resources in the world and a share of fish stocks on biologically renewable level (Safe Biological Limits, SBL). When assessing the resources are classified into three categories: 1) overexploited, 2) fully exploited and 3) under-exploited.
The proportion of fish stocks within safe biological limits (i.e. greater than threshold biomass with biomass stocks, calle in relation to the number of stocks fully exploited and under-exploited; the indicator includes those stocks for which biomass threshold sets.
The indicator determines the level of progress towards the sustainable management of fish stocks, in which the aim is to avoid overfishing and to maintain in a secure environmentally limits the effect of fishing on stocks, species and ecosystems.

1. proportion of stocks fully exploited on the Baltic Sea
2. proportion of stocks non-fully exploited on the Baltic Sea
3. proportion of stocks over-exploited on the Baltic Sea
4. proportion of stocks within sustainable biological limits on the Baltic Sea

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, to which the Union is a party, imposes obligations related to the protection, including maintenance or restoration of the population of the fished species at levels that the Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY).

Maximum Sustainable Yield is understood as the largest catch that can be taken from fish stocks for an period. The aim of this threshold is to achieve maximum efficiency of fish stocks while maintaining biodiversity and functioning of ecosystems relevant to present and future generations. Fish stocks are considered to be sustainable if their numbers persist at a level that ensures maximum sustainable yield or higher.

In order to ensure that basic industrial species in the Baltic Sea are operated at a renewable level, Regulation (EU) No 2016/1139 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 July 2016 has been drawn up and adopted establishing a multiannual plan for cod, herring and sprat in the Baltic Sea and the fisheries exploiting those stocks (amending Council Regulation (EC) No 2187/2005 and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1098/2007).

This regulation specifies the maximum level of fishing (maximum sustainable yield) of the species in question by imposing conservation obligations, including maintaining or restoring populations of target species at renewable levels.

The indicator adopts four dimensions, i.e .:
1. proportion of fully exploited fish stocks
2. proportion of fish stocks not fully exploited
3. proportion of fish stocks over-exploited) and
4. proportion of stocks within sustainable biological limit

Sustainable levels include those fish stocks which, according to the stock assessment, were classified as "not fully exploited" and "fully exploited". The indicator is calculated as the sum of these two categories divided by the total number of fish species subject to resource assessment and multiplied by 100.

The assessment of stocks includes fish stocks as defined in Regulation (EU) No 2016/1139 of the European Parliament and of the Council for which a multi-annual plan has been established:
1. Atlantic cod in the western part of the Baltic Sea
2. Atlantic cod in the eastern part of the Baltic Sea
3. Atlantic herring in the western part of the Baltic Sea
4. Atlantic herring in the central part of the Baltic Sea
5. sprat in the Baltic Sea

Since 2012, the value of the percentage share is based on the analysis of 4 stocks (excluding the eastern cod stock).

Until 2020, the stocks for which there was a ban on fishing were included in the "non-fully exploited" category. Since 2021, these stocks have not been included in the subcategories of the indicator. It concerns the prohibition of fishing for herring in the Western Baltic Sea and for cod in the Eastern Baltic Sea.