Brussels, 25/01/2001 (Agence Europe) - Following negotiations held in Brussels between 18 and 23 January, the European Union and Norway reached an agreement on a common strategy for countering the collapse of cod stocks in the North Sea. The strategy provides for the creation of a spawning box entirely closed off to fishing until 30 April. The box includes: - the stretch of sea between the West of the Netherlands and the East of England; -a large rectangle to the East of Schleswig-Holstein and Denmark; which is extended by an area of unequal thickness up to the North of Scotland. Under certain conditions, pelagic fishing (for species that live at average depth unlike the cod that lives deep in the sea) remains authorised. A further meeting between the European Commission and Norway, on 2 February, will allow these conditions to be defined: - notification of authorisations between the two parties; - system for monitoring activity; - system for recording catches; - compulsory presence of an observer on board fishing boats; - exchange of inspectors; - and, possibly, an agreement on the one net rule.
The Commission must also present, in April, a long term plan for five years for restoring cod stocks in the North Sea.