02/02/2011 (Agence Europe) - French opposition to individual transferable quotas. On Tuesday 1 February, Alain Cadec (EPP, France) and Pierre-Georges Dachicourt, President of the French national fisheries committee (Comité national des pêches) invited members of the European Parliament fisheries committee to discuss how the reform of common fisheries policy might affect France. In its proposals on the reform (expected in June), the Commission would like to put in place a system of individual transferable quotas. Cadec and the Comité national des pêches “condemn this regulation system which will endanger the future of small-scale artisanal fishing and encourage speculation”, a press release from Cadec says. It goes on: “Member states must be able to choose how to manage their quotas. France wants to continue to manage its quotas collectively and I will argue for that position”. (L.C./transl.rt)