Brussels, 17/12/2002 (Agence Europe) - In conclusions adopted Monday evening, European Fisheries Ministers welcome the plan of action presented in October by Commissioner Franz Fischler on the conservation and sustainable exploitation of fish stocks in the Mediterranean. The Council trusts that Community action will focus on the management of stocks and shared fisheries and is willing to promote, with the Commission, a "concerted approach to evaluate costs and advantages" of the creation of new zones for the protection of fishing in its waters. Furthermore, the Council and the Commission will encourage specific measures for the management of the fishing effort and catch limits, it is stated in the conclusions. The Council welcomes the fact that this plan of action recognises the specific nature of Mediterranean fisheries (small non-industrial fisheries and the size of international waters, which are vaster than elsewhere because of the more restricted extent of waters under national jurisdiction). "For these reasons, management of the fishing effort and improvement of technical conservation measures should be essential tools", ministers stress, adding that it would perhaps be preferable for a number of measures to be managed at local or national level rather than on a Community scale because of the fact that they have a limited crossborder impact. The Council also gave its support to the organisation in December 2003 of an international conference on fishing in the Mediterranean.