Luxembourg, 17/04/2007 (Agence Europe) - In Luxemburg on Monday, EU fisheries ministers accepted the suggestion from the German presidency of the Council to delay finalisation of a political agreement on eel stock recovery measures until “May or June”. All the ingredients for a compromise seemed to be there, but German minister, Horst Seehofer, was well aware that the agreement could very well have been made without the approval of France and Spain in particular. These two countries (which were backed by Italy) opposed ambitious measures for restocking waters, particularly in the north and centre of Europe (Netherlands, Denmark, United Kingdom and Germany), with glass eels. This opposition is understandable given that France and Spain are the EU's main glass eel producers.
The final compromise text put to ministers on Monday evening seemed to be to the satisfaction of a qualified majority of member states:
Restocking: according to the final amended proposal, 45% of glass eel catches by EU fishers were to be reserved for restocking European waters. This percentage would increase by 5% annually, so as to represent 60% by 2010. France and Spain were unwilling to go above 20%.
Management plan: at the request of several countries from both the north and south of Europe, the deadline for submitting eel management plans to the Commission has been put back by one year, until the end of December 2008. These plans must allow 40% of common eels to swim down rivers and streams to reach their reproduction grounds. These plans, which can contain various measures (regulation of fishing, fish passes in dams, recreation of wet zones, temporarily halting hydroelectric turbines etc.) have a binding target: to allow at least 40% of adult common eels to reach the sea, where they reproduce. If any member state fails to meet the deadline for submitting its plans, or the plan submitted is rejected, it will be required to impose a 50% reduction in eel and glass eel catches.
Black Sea: at the request of the Czech Republic and Bulgaria, the Commission initially proposed to include the Black Sea and the Danube Basin in the scope of the regulation. Following the opposition of other countries (Romania and Austria) on the grounds that they did not fish for eel, a compromise was reached: only after further scientific data are available will the decision on whether or not to include the Black Sea and the Danube Basin in the regulation be taken. (lc)