EU gets deal in marathon fish talks

EU ministers ended a 30-hour marathon yesterday with a deal on 2004 fish catches that aims to save cod and other species from extinction but may still ruin many fishermen who face tying up boats for weeks on end.

After all-night talks, the bloc's 15 fisheries ministers modified plans for severe quota cuts for cod, a species on the danger list in EU waters with the lowest stocks ever recorded, in fishing grounds off Denmark and western Scotland.

A key part of the deal was a long-term strategy tabled by EU Fisheries Commissioner Franz Fischler to raise cod stocks by an annual 30 per cent over five to 10 years, and hake by five per cent. In return, he backed higher quotas for other species.

These are the EU's two most endangered stocks. For cod, scientists had called for a total fishing ban in the North Sea, Irish Sea and off western Scotland. Mr Fischler had already ruled out this option due to its social impact on coastal communities.

But the bitterest pill for many EU countries to swallow was Mr Mr Fischler's insistence on putting limits on the days fishermen can spend at sea and cuts in the maximum amount they can catch - potentially putting many on the verge of bankruptcy.

"The coming years will not be easy for some fishermen. But the long-term recovery plans do give fishermen prospects for the future. EU funding is available to act as a social shock absorber," Mr Fischler told a news conference.

"We also took account of social aspects. We are talking about thousands of families who live from the fishing sector and depend on it. It is not necessary for us to close whole areas."

But fishermen were less convinced and say jobs have been lost already and boats scrapped as a result of last year's quota cuts. Entire communities could be destroyed, similar to the closure of Canada's Grand Banks cod grounds in 1992, they say.

"We're looking at swingeing cuts to whiting and cod catches in the Celtic Sea (off southern Ireland)," Lorcan O'Cinneide, Chief Executive of the Irish Fish Producers Organisation, said.