Top 10 species

While for sprat there is only one stock, the cod species splits into the eastern Baltic cod and the western Baltic cod; the herring species splits into the western herring, the central Baltic herring, the Bothnian herring and the Gulf of Riga herring.
In 2022 the most important species by landing weight were sprat (54 % of total landed weight) and herring (38 % of total landed weight), together making up over 90 % of the total Baltic landings. Sprat generated the highest value (€63.7 million), representing 39 % of the landed value), followed by herring (€48.0 million, 29 % of the landed value).
Ten stocks of five commercially important fish species are managed under the EU common fisheries policy, using total allowable catches (TACs). Of these ten fish stocks, i.e. four herring stocks, two cod stocks, two salmon stocks, sprat and plaice, four are no longer targeted by fisheries and may only be landed as by-catch: these are western herring, eastern Baltic cod, western Baltic cod and salmon in the main basin. The remaining target fisheries are sprat, central Baltic herring, Bothnian herring, Gulf of Riga herring, plaice and Gulf of Finland salmon.