21/02/2001 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission expressed its concern after the failure of the negotiations over the management of blue whiting stocks in the North East Atlantic. It notes in a Communiqué that, despite the substantial efforts agreed to by the European Union, these negotiations, which are part of the framework of conservation measures taken within the North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC), have failed due to the intransigent attitude of Iceland and Norway, which have refused to reduce their volume of catches. The Commission recalls that that catches of blue whiting, in this area, rose from 1.2 million tonnes in 1999 to 1.4 million in 2000, despite a 25% reduction in the EU's fishing effort over the same year. The scientific experts favoured lowering the total catches to 628,000 tonnes in 2001.