Brussels, 09/10/2003 (Agence Europe) - Having presented an action plan to preserve Mediterranean stocks in October 2002, the European Commission on Thursday adopted a proposed regulation to limit fishing effort in this zone. It aims principally to reinforce technical measures already in place, such as increasing the size of the minimum mesh size of tower nets (from 40mm currently to 50mm in 2005 then 60mm by the end of 2008), and bringing in provisions for the management of fishing effort, such as the temporary closure of zones in Community and international waters. Other measures have been proposed, such as: - reinforcing the ban on certain trawling activities to help protect young stocks; - a special plan for the management of swordfish stocks; - improving checks; - sharing responsibility for management between the European Union and the Member States.
A Ministerial conference of Member States and third countries from the Mediterranean basin will be held in Venice this November to discuss the creation of a protection zone to help combat illegal activities and catches.