Brussels, 21/02/2002 (Agence Europe) - One year after having declared himself concerned by the deadlock in negotiations on the adoption of management measures applicable to the fishing of the blue whiting in the North-East Atlantic, Commissioner Franz Fischler warned, after further unfruitful meeting recently held in Iceland, against the serious danger for stocks caused by the refusal of the coastal States concerned (EU Member states, Faroe Islands, Greenland, Iceland and Norway, in addition to Russia, which recently joined negotiations) to agree on reducing catches. The Commission considers that this deadlock is due to "the excessive and unrealistic demands of other parties", based on catches that have tripled from 1998 to 2001 (over 1.8 million tonnes in 2001, whereas the total admissible catches is set at 650,000 tonnes a year).
Mr. Fischler sent out this warning after a technical meeting that was held in Reykjavik on 11 and 12 February between the coastal States concerned. At that meeting, the parties simply considered that a recovery plan for the blue whiting had to be put in place and agreed to ask the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) for scientific advice on various aspects of this plan, but found no solution for management measures for 2002. Discussions will resume at the extraordinary meeting of the North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC), to be held from 10 to 12 April. The NEAFC is the regional fisheries organisation that, since 1994, sets the Tacs for the blue whiting.
"I urge the countries concerned to assume their responsibilities and co-operate in the conservation of this shared fish stock. Increasing catches by 300% with the intention of creating a precedent is irresponsible, especially when this anarchic fishing threatens a serious depletion in stocks of the blue whiting", declared Fischler, recalling that the EU had already assumed its responsibilities by deciding not to increase its quotas of catches. In the framework of a recovery plan recommended by ICES, the Community agreed to reduce, initially, its caches by 35%.