Brussels - European Union fisheries ministers sailed into a storm on Wednesday as they agreed quotas for European fisheries that went well beyond scientifically-recommended limits, infuriating environmental groups.
The boost to catch quotas for key species such as cod had been made possible because stocks had recovered in recent years, and the decision therefore included 'important elements of a sustainable fishery,' Germany's secretary of state for agriculture and fisheries, Gert Lindemann, said.
But conservation groups condemned the proposals, saying the stocks in question had not had time to recover from years of overfishing, and that the decision sacrificed long-term sustainability for short- term profit.
'Today's decision continues a three-decade-long trend of ministerial incompetence that is dragging Europe's seas towards a point of no return,' Saskia Richartz, marine policy adviser at environmental group Greenpeace, said.
'EU fisheries ministers have gambled on the future of Europe's fish stocks,' conservation group WWF added in a statement.
On Wednesday, the EU's fisheries ministers agreed to the quotas of fish catches which they would set for European waters in 2008.
The quotas were based on proposals from the EU's executive, the Commission. The Commission's proposals, in turn, were based on advice from scientific body the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES).
But the quotas agreed by ministers on Wednesday went beyond both the Commission's proposals and the scientific advice.
For example, the Commission had proposed a 10-per-cent cut in quotas for dab and flounder in European waters. Ministers instead approved a 10-per-cent increase in the quota.
And on cod, the Commission had proposed an 11-per-cent increase in quotas for the North Sea, and 25-per-cent cuts in all other waters.
Ministers accepted the 11-per-cent increase in the North Sea fishery, but only allowed cuts of between 9 and 18 per cent in other areas.
The increased quotas are to be balanced by a reduction in the number of days fishermen spend at sea, and by the introduction of new technology in fishing fleets designed to permit fishermen to target species which are still within quota limits, while avoiding species for which the limit has already been reached.
But environmental groups point out that the technical measures are to be brought in on a voluntary basis only - leaving them sceptical as to whether they will ever be implemented.
'Whether the industry's plan will actually lead to fishermen avoiding cod at sea remains to be seen. As the scheme is voluntary, it will only prove to be effective if enough boats follow the plan,' Carol Phua, fisheries policy officer at WWF, said.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
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