E.U. Fisheries Ministries Reach Agreement on Catch Quotas
They had to pull an all-nighter to make it happen, but the 15 nations of the European Union have finally reached an agreement on catch quotas for all commercial species of fish in the region. In crafting the agreement, fisheries ministers from the member nations sought to balance the financial concerns of fishers with the need to preserve dwindling fish stocks. The end result offers the fishing industry increased quotas for haddock, prawns, and other species, as well as an additional five days per month that trawlers can ply their trade. Environmentalists say the agreement does not adequately safeguard cod, whose numbers have plummeted 90 percent since 1970. But others say that the agreement’s long-term conservation plan will do a fine job of protecting cod and other species, including the endangered northern hake.
