After a long debate on Monday (25 May), EU fisheries ministers agreed that the bloc’s fishing policy must change but came no closer to taking tough decisions on cutting fleets.
The ministers discussed a green paper that was published by the European Commission in April in the run up to an overhaul of the EU’s much-criticised common fisheries policy in 2012.
The document highlights the sorry state of the EU’s fish stocks – 88 percent currently suffer from over-fishing – and notes that the solution lies in a reduction in the EU’s fishing capacity.
But while member states agree this status quo cannot continue, agreement on a reduction in national quotas is likely to be less forthcoming.