The European Commission is to introduce cuts of up to 50 per cent in fishing catches to protect stocks.
The worst-affected regions are expected to include the Irish Sea and the North Sea and may lead to job losses in the industry, an EU commissioner said.
The cuts are intended to protect dwindling cod and hake stocks.
EU Fisheries Commissioner Mr Franz Fischler said catches of these fish need to be reduced by half to prevent valuable stocks from disappearing.
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He said the Commission regards the scaling back of fishing fleets is only solution to the threat to the fishing industry.