Poland’s fisheries catches in the Baltic Sea (1950-2007)

Total marine fisheries catches in the Baltic Sea by Poland were estimated from 1950-2007 using a method called 'catch reconstruction'. Using ICES landing statistics (which have included Polish catches since 1955) as our reported data baseline, we created a more comprehensive catch-data time-series that accounts for 'adjustments to ICES landing statistics' (from sources such as ICES working group stock assessment reports and the Polish Maritime Industry), unreported (‗unallocated‘) landings, discards, and recreational catches. ICES attributes approximately 7 million tonnes of fish to Poland from 1950-2007, our reconstruction for the same time period estimated 9.5 million tonnes, an increase of 35%. Unreported landings of cod (Gadus morhua) seem to be a major problem in Poland, and our reconstruction estimates almost 1 million tonnes landed illegally between 1990 and 2007. Despite this, we still believe this reconstruction remains a conservative estimate of the true rate of marine resource exploitation by Poland in the Baltic Sea. Baltic Sea fish stocks have shown significant changes since 1950, and strategies such as increased data collection to include all fishery sectors, increased accountability and transparency at the decision-making level in an ecosystem-based management context, and increased compliance with fishing restrictions, would all increase the chances of the stocks‘ recovery.