EU fish quota deal hammered out
By Jerome Hart,WNS EU Correspondent
LONDON - European Union ministers have reached a deal to regulate permitted fish catches in 2007, aimed at stimulating the recovery of depleted stocks. During late-night talks, the ministers agreed a series of concessions offered by the European Commission, including a 14% cut in the North Sea cod catch. Cod will also be further protected by a cut in the days vessels spend at sea. Scientists say stocks will only recover if there is a total ban on cod fishing, but politicians ruled this out. EU Fisheries Minister Joe Borg said the Commission was trying to balance the need to rebuild depleted fish stocks with the needs of those whose livelihoods depend on fishing. "The result was a proposal that has been severely criticised by all sides for being too drastic for some and too weak for others.
"Yet despite the difficulties I believe that the agreement reached tonight reinforces our gradual but sustained approach to delivering sustainable fisheries," he said. He confirmed that cod catches will be cut by 20% in the west of Scotland and Celtic Sea, and by 15% for other stocks, except the North Sea where it will be cut by 14%. The number of days cod fishermen spend at sea was reduced by 7-10% - the current maximum is about 15 days a month, depending the type of fishing gear used and the exact fishing ground. The Commission originally recommended a 25% cut in days at sea. A revised proposal of a 12% cut was also rejected.
The UK argued that the deal should take into account the 65% reduction in effort put into catching cod British fishermen have made over the last four years. UK Fisheries Minister Ben Bradshaw said the UK accepted there had to be further reductions in the cod catch, and that the stock was still in very poor shape, but he added that more cod had been born in 2005 than in any year since 1996. "The agreement builds on the considerable cuts in cod catches already made in recent years. "The impact on our fishing fleet will be more than compensated for by big increases in catches allowed for prawns, haddock, mackerel and monkfish - each of which is already more valuable than cod to our fishermen," he said.
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