Brussels, 15/09/2010 (Agence Europe) - At a meeting in Brussels on Tuesday 14 September, scientists painted a bleak picture of the state of fish stocks in European waters, recommending reductions in catches in several cases. In the European waters of the Atlantic, the North Sea and the Baltic, the mortality rate for two thirds of fish stocks is too high, and most are being overfished, said Michael Sissenwine of ICES (International Council for the Exploration of the Sea) in a seminar. In the Mediterranean, 9% of the stocks studied were fished reasonably, 68% were overfished and 23% were being fished to the extent of their capacity, said GFCM (General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean) expert Henri Farrugio. A further source of concern is that many bottom-living fish in the Mediterranean never reach adulthood as they are traditionally fished as juveniles without having had time to reproduce. For this reason, there is only limited interest in setting up areas where fishing is restricted, in the submarine canyons below the continental plateau. In the Celtic Sea, scientists remain concerned for the survival of cod and recommend a moratorium on this fishery, Sissenwine said. (L.C./transl.rt)