A storm is brewing again in the international waters off Canada. Just 2 weeks after burying the hatchet with Canada (Down To Earth, Vol 4, No 1), Spanish authorities have ordered one of their vessels back to port for using illegal nets.
According to an agriculture ministry spokesman, the Spanish fisheries department had suspended the licence of the Mayi-1V after determining that the holes in a net used by the trawler were smaller than regulation size. The ministry said the trawler's actions could jeopardise the activity of the entire Spanish fleet fishing off Newfoundland.
Canadian diplomats in Brussels confirmed the incident, saying that European Union (EU) officials had boarded the trawler and would accompany it back to port. The ball is now in the court of the EU which has to decide whether to penalise the boat if the crew is found guilty.
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