28/02/2005 (Agence Europe) - In a press release, Ettore Iani, president of Legapesca, has aired his confusion at the EU paying for some hundred fishing boats (theoretically earmarked for destruction) to be send to parts of Asia hit by the tsunami last December. The proposed regulation underlines the quality of the boats, but these are “obsolete, having been used for many years and with outdated and heavily polluting technologies” and which are not adapted for local practices, Mr Iani states in the press release, adding that for Europe, this kind of action “would not exactly be the best visiting card”. He feels that as the costs for transferring each fishing boat could be as high as 45,000 EUR, whereas building a new boat locally would be “half that”, the same amount of money could buy twice as many boats and, at the same time, promote the activity of local boat-building yards. (See above and EUROPE of 25 February, p.15, for the European Parliament's vote).