EU seeks end to fleet subsidies at WTO; EU sets blue whiting quota in NEAFC area; Cod recovery plan next week; Canada closes Atlantic cod fishery; Low prices hit Scottish white fish sector

摘要

The European Commission has published a World Trade Organisation position paper calling for the elimination of subsidies which expand fishing fleet capacity or increase fishing effort. However, it wants a continuation of aid to deal with the socialand economic consequences of fisheries restructuring, as well as compensation for temporary tie-up schemes. The EU has abandoned its self-imposed restrictions on blue whiting fishing in the international waters under the North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission by setting a 25 0000 tonne quota for Community vessels. This brings EU fishing effort back up to the levels seen in the 1990s. Other NEAFC states had been unable to agree on quota limitations. Plans for the long term recovery of cod stocks will be unveiled by EU Fisheries Commissioner Franz Fischler next week, following months of speculation. The current limit of 15 days at sea per month will be replaced with other effort control measures. Canadian fisheries minister Robert Thibault has closed three cod stocks to fishing on the east coast, admitting that more than a decade of bans and severe fishing restrictions have failed to revive the stocks. Economic assistance is being offered to the hundreds of people affected by the closure. Research will be carried out on the impact of seals on cod numbers and the seal hunt is to be stepped up. Scotland's main white fish port, Peterhead saw a 1 million pound drop in the value of white fish landings in the first quarter of this year. A slight increase in volume was negated by a 15 percent drop in prices compared with a year earlier. Meanwhile, almost a third of those eligible in the Scottish white fish fleet have applied for the government's decommissioning scheme.