Brussels, 27/09/2010 (Agence Europe) - At the 15th annual Conference on the Convention on the Conservation and Management of Pollock Resources in the Central Bering Sea from 20 September to 1 October 2010, the EU will argue for a continuation of the ban on fishing pollock (also known as saithe or coley), according to conclusions adopted on Monday 27 September by the EU Council of Ministers.
The Bering Sea is a sea in the Pacific Ocean, north of the Aleutian Islands. It is bordered to the west by the Kamchatka peninsula and the southern coasts of the Chukot peninsula in Siberia, to the east by Alaska and to the north by the Bering Straits, which separate the Chukot Sea from the Arctic Ocean. At the forthcoming annual conference, the EU position “will be based upon the assessment of the Aleutian Basin Pollock biomass conducted by the Scientific and Technical Committee of the Conventions,” the text of the conclusions states. Scientists have recommended an extension of the moratorium on fishing for Pollock in the central area of the Bering Sea and the EU “will support this recommendation”. The EU will also encourage parties to the convention to conduct trial fishing in the region in 2011, in order to obtain more scientific data and understanding relating to the distribution and status of the pollock stock in the Central Bering Sea. (L.C./transl.rt)