The Baltic Sea Regional Advisory Council (BS RAC) was set up in March 2006 in line with a decision by the EU to create so-called Regional Advisory Councils in the fisheries sector (Council Decision 2004/585/EC).

The creation of Regional Advisory Councils (RACs) was one of the pillars of the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy, carried out in 2002. They came about as a response to calls from stakeholders in the fisheries sector who wanted to be more involved in the way fisheries is managed in the EU.

The main aim of the BS RAC is to prepare and provide advice on the management of Baltic Sea fisheries in order to achieve a successful running of the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy.

The BS RAC consists of representatives from the fishing sector and other interest groups affected by the Common Fisheries Policy. These include fisheries’ associations, producer organisations, processors, market organisations, environmental NGOs, aquaculture producers, consumers, women’s networks and recreational and sports fishermen.

Steve Karnicki,  of the Sea Fisheries Institute (MIR), Gdynia, Poland, is Honorary Chairperson of the BS RAC General Assembly. Reine J. Johansson, former Chairman of the Swedish Fishermen’s Federation is Chairperson of the Executive Committee. Ewa Milewska from WWF is Vice-chair. 

The BS RAC is funded by the European Union, the Member States around the Baltic Sea, and its members. It has also had a few sponsors. The Danish fish processing company Espersen A/S sponsored the BS RAC in 2006 with a contribution towards interpetation and translation costs. The Fishermen's Association of Bornholm and Christiansø sponsored a meeting of the Salmon and Sea Trout Working Group in April 2009. Chalmers University of Technology, with its GC PLUS team, sponsored the BS RAC Science Workshop in May 2009, with the overall aim of facilitating public learning and understanding of science. The Swedish Ministry of Agriculture and the European Economic and Social Committee in Brussels contributed towards the costs of the Fisheries Conference on the Baltic, held in October 2009. 

If you want to find out more about Regional Advisory Councils, please go to the European Commission’s (DG FISH) website at: