EU Cuts 2005 Fish Quotas to Save Depleted Species
Date: 23-Dec-04
Country: BELGIUM
Author: Jeremy Smith and Aine Gallagher
In a bid to secure a deal that would give chronically low stocks a chance to recover, the European Commission had wanted to ban cod fishing in several areas, mainly in the North Sea.
But faced with bitter opposition from Britain and France, the Commission backed down from a plan to turn stretches of water into no-go zones -- opting instead to impose further curbs on permitted fishing times and cut national catch allowances.
"These are necessary measures, without economically damaging fleets. There will be less fishing and more protection of stocks," EU Fisheries Commissioner Joe Borg told a news conference after a 14-hour overnight negotiating marathon.
Lithuania was the only EU state to reject the compromise deal, while Greece and Latvia abstained.
Scientists have repeatedly warned fish numbers are so low in some areas that the only solution is to ban fishing. Cod, hake and sole could die out, they say.
Conservation group WWF criticised the deal, saying ministers had failed to take decisive action to revive fish stocks.
"We all want to secure a long term future for commercial stocks and a healthier marine environment, but avoiding taking action is not going to help anyone as it will jeopardise stock recovery," it said in a statement.
TASTY DISH
The Commission has usually rejected a ban for fear of wrecking communities dependent on fishing for a livelihood.
But with the first signs of growth in cod numbers in about 10 years, it wants to keep up a drive to revive stocks of the fish, a popular dish on dinner tables across Europe.
France and Spain were soothed early in the talks when the Commission agreed to scrap a plan to close off a prized anchovy area in the Bay of Biscay, as well as reduce the quota by just 10 percent instead of a proposed 85 percent.
Britain, one of the hardest countries to convince since its Scottish fishing industry would have been badly hit by the Commission's initial plan to close a key cod ground, said it had emerged unscathed -- though not triumphant.
"We welcome the fact that the specific plans ... for closed areas have been withdrawn," British Fisheries Minister Ben Bradshaw said in a statement.
"As always, our aim in these negotiations has been to take the tough decisions necessary to protect those stocks under threat while maximising opportunity for our fishermen to catch stocks that are healthy," he said.
Borg had wanted to shut five areas round the Iberian peninsula for the threatened Norway lobster, a shellfish which looks like a cross between a large prawn and small lobster.
This idea was abandoned in the final deal, while France -- concerned about steep quota cuts for exotic deep water species like orange roughy, black scabbardfish and forkbeard -- managed to convince the Commission to scale back these reductions.
An EU diplomat said national delegations were surprised at how quickly the Commission had ditched key elements of its proposal.
