Quota blow for European fishermen

BRUSSELS, Belgium -- The European Union's fisheries chief has demanded more drastic cuts in catches next year.

EU Fisheries Commissioner Franz Fischler said the move was an attempt to assure the survival of several commercial fish species.

Years of reductions in catch quotas and mandatory cuts in the fishing fleets of the 15 EU nations have failed to stop the decline of several key species, forcing more cuts on a fishing industry already in crisis.

Fischler proposed cuts in some commercial species of up to 58 percent in key fishing grounds.

"We now have our backs to the wall," he said.

EU fisheries ministers meet on December 17 and 18 to decide whether to back the stringent measures.

Traditionally, the member states have always softened the blows for their industries. Fischler warned, however, that such tactics had to come to an end.

"I trust that EU fisheries ministers will show courage and resolve to refrain from political horsetrading," he said.

A dozen species in peril

Observers say too many boats are still chasing fewer and fewer fish. The EU has about a quarter-of-a-million fishermen, with many more involved in secondary industries.

For the past decade, environmentalists have criticised the catch cuts as insufficient.

EU officials said on Tuesday that there were now a dozen species near the level of collapse compared to only four last year.

Under Fischler's proposals, the overall catch will decline by some 14 percent this year but several species will face much tougher cuts.

The European Commission proposed reducing the catch of cod in the Kattegat straight between Sweden and Denmark by 58 percent; haddock in the Irish sea by 52 percent; sole in the North Sea by 25 percent and langoustines in the Bay of Biscay by up to 50 percent.

"I am well aware that this is another black day for European fishermen," Fischler said.

The EU wants to have a new common fisheries policy in place in 2003 -- 20 years after the member states first embarked on the EU-wide policy.

Even though fishing accounts for less than 1 percent of the Union's gross domestic product, it is of critical importance in such regions as northern Spain, France's Atlantic coast and Scotland.