Commission determined to hold line in fish talks

There is a new determination in the European Commission to defend dwindling fish stocks by standing firmly behind scientifically-based catch limits for next year, the Commission has warned. The Minister for the Marine, Dr Woods, last night went into what was expected to be an all-night session of negotiations on next year's "Total Allowable Catches" (TACs) warning of an "extremely difficult" process with a new, more militant Commissioner, Mr Franz Fischler, and "real problems" with some key fisheries on which Ireland depends.

A round of bilateral meetings between the Finnish Presidency, the Commission and individual member-states seems to have served largely to confirm the gulf between them. A first compromise package was expected around 2 a.m. this morning. Irish scientific evidence of the crisis facing white fish stocks tends to back the Commission's danger warnings, "although we don't believe it goes that far", the Minister admitted.

Both he and the new Northern Ireland Minister of Fisheries, Ms Brid Rodgers, were making common cause in seeking a new approach to managing the particularly badly affected Irish Sea stocks of cod.

While the Commission is calling for cuts of 70 per cent in TACs, both Dublin and Belfast would like to see a voluntary agreement reached between those who have traditionally had rights in the area - the South, the fishermen of Kilkeel and Portavogie in Co Down, the British, and the French. This would involve agreement to close down fisheries during the breeding season and experiments with wider nets to spare more juveniles.

Both ministers reflected on the need to bridge the gap of distrust between scientists and fishermen, with Ms Rodgers calling for "a new dialogue". Dr Woods was willing to back calls from Mr Joey Murrin of the Killybegs Fishermen's Organisation for inspectors on the larger boats to monitor the extent of discards.

Mr Murrin argued that until it was known how many small or over-quota fish were caught and then discarded scientists could not reliably predict the result of curbing TACs.