On October 19, street artists installed a massive cod fish on the lap of King Mindaugas sculpture in central Vilnius. The act was a response to overfishing in the Baltic Sea and alleged inaction of the European Union.
Next to the sculpture, artists wrote slogans #IsgelbekBaltijosJura (Save the Baltic Sea) and #EndOverFishing. They addressed the messages to Virginijus Sinkevičius, former Lithuanian economy minister who is currently serving as the European Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans, and Fisheries.
“Sinkevičius keeps promising to impose quotas on industrial fishing. The situation in the Baltic Sea is very serious. With this campaign, we wanted to attract his attention,” said one of the sculpture authors who asked to remain anonymous.
“King Mindaugas held the last cod in his hand and cried because there were no more fish in the Baltic Sea,” the artist explained the idea. The activists installed the fish on the sculpture at 09:00 on Monday.
According to the artist, there was not enough concern and information on the extinction of fish species in the Baltic Sea.
Read more: As 'dead zones' grow, can the Baltic Sea be saved?
“I could only find a few vague articles. I think that this act is important because it points to a large and old problem,” he explained.
On October 19, members of the EU’s Agriculture and Fisheries Council (AGRIFISH) met in Luxembourg to set restrictions on fishing in the Baltic Sea for 2021. They agreed to reduce total allowable catches of certain fish stocks by around 6 percent.
In 2019, AGRIFISH also set limits on fishing in the Baltic Sea for 2020, but they exceeded recommendations by environmentalists and the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy.
Our Fish, a European initiative to stop overfishing, organised similar political performances in Germany, Poland, and Denmark. In Copenhagen, artists installed a large cod on the famous Little Mermaid statue.
“Commissioner Sinkevičius comes from the Baltic region where the future generations will inherit his legacy. […] He promised that sustainable fishing will be a priority of the EU. We hope that the Commissioner will keep the promise,” Rebecca Hubbard, head of Our Fish, said.
Read more: Humans ‘losing life support system’ as environment deteriorates – Lithuania’s EC delegate
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