On Tuesday afternoon, 18 December, European fisheries ministers were moving towards a compromise on total allowable catches (TACs) and quotas for 2019 in the Atlantic, the Channel and the North Sea (see EUROPE 12160).
A compromise text on next year's draft TAC and quota regulation was presented to national delegations in the morning.
After trilateral meetings (Member State, European Commission and Austrian Presidency of the Council), ministers were to meet early in the evening to either confirm an agreement or relaunch discussions with a view to drafting a second compromise text.
Ministers discussed a new article allowing for the exchange of quotas between Member States for five stocks (by-catches), in order to take into account the landing obligation as from 1 January 2019 for all stocks.
The stocks concerned are: - cod in the west of Scotland and cod in the Celtic Sea and in the Bay of Biscay/Iberian waters; - whiting in the west of Scotland and in the Irish Sea; - plaice in the south of the Celtic Sea and in south western Ireland.
This flexibility in the form of exchanges of quota would apply from January to March 2019, depending on the compromise text. The latter also provided for additional tonnages for sea bass fishermen and less stringent restrictions on eel fishing. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)