IN FOCUS

The European Union (EU)
was
once again in the grip
of a fishing
controversy. After
stormy discussions, EU fishery
ministers agreed
to reduce
fishing capacities by up
to
30 per cent over the
next five years
in a bid to save
dwindling fish
stocks in European
waters.

The agreement allows
member
countries to make the
cuts either
by lowering the size of
the fleets or
by reducing the number
of days
they spend at sea. The
30 per cent
cut has been introduced
for endangered species while 20
per cent
reduction has been
imposed for
over-fished stocks
which are not
yet facing extinction.
Cod, herring,
mackerel, plaice and
sole in the
North Sea and salmon in
the Baltic
Sea are some of the
most endangered species.
Over-fished stocks
include haddock, saithe
and hake
in the North Sea,
mackerel, bluefish tuna and swordfish
off the
Iberian peninsula.

As usual, there were
voices of
dissent. Britain and
France voted
against the deal.
Britain was
unhappy about EU's
permissive
policy of
'quota-hopping' - the
practice of foreign
boat owners
buying British fish
quotas. It has
been insisting that EU
must resolve
the issue before
fishing capacity is
reduced. "We are not
prepared to
continue to see a
situation where
over a quarter of the
British fishing
flea is foreign-owned
and foreign-controlled," said the
British fisheries minister Tony
Baldry. France
did not support the
five-year deal
since this would commit
it to
reduce its fishing
capacity beyond
1999 when existing
funding
arrangements would
expire.

Environmentalists have
also
criticised the deal
because they
feel the reductions are
not enough
to save the endangered
stocks.
The cuts are much less
than
the targets that were
being pressed
for by the European
Commission.
The agreement also does
not
stop EU trawlers from
operating
in the waters of Third
World
countries.