Commission to scale back frequency of quota cuts

The European Commission is planning to take a longer-term, more gradual approach to the problem of over-fishing in a move which would bring a greater risk of stock depletion.

The communication, to be published next week, proposes moving away from the focus on yearly discussions on catch limitations to a multi-annual look at what needs to be done to help fish stocks recover. The gradual nature of the plan would mean less brutal cut-backs in fishing and more discipline among member states to live up to what they sign up to in terms of catches.

While this approach addresses better the objectives of the Common Fisheries Policy to help sustain both fish stocks and the fishing industry, one Commission official pointed out that it comes with a risk. "This is more risky but by minimising the risk it would not be socially or economically acceptable," the official said.

"You are taking a higher risk that stocks will collapse altogether," he added.

The plan would rely on government's "living up to commitments" on fish takes, he said.

The plan will go before the European Parliament and Council of Ministers for discussion but is likely to run into difficulties for very different reasons. The benchmark used to assess how much stocks can be fished without depressing their ability to reproduce - maximum sustainable yield - is questioned by groups on both sides of the debate as well as the scientific community.

Michael Earle, fisheries adviser to the Greens in the Parliament, said that this method of assessing stocks relied on good data which was not always available and therefore meant fishing could proceed over a sustainable limit.

Guy Vernaeve, general secretary of Europche, which represents the fishing industry, said that the method of assessment was "complicated and scientifically abstract". He also criticised the Commission's overall plan as a further blow to an already damaged industry. "It will mean huge reductions in fishing for certain and the end effect is there," he said.

Earle criticised the plan for trusting member states too much on what they say they will do. "To varying degrees in annual assessments the scoreboards show that every member state has a problem [with compliance]," he said.

The Commission said member states had signed up to achieving these fishing limits by 2015 - at an international summit in Johannesburg in 2002 - and that next week's communication was a way of meeting this political commitment. "This is about turning the debate into making sure we implement our commitments," said the Commission official.

The European Commission is planning to take a longer-term, more gradual approach to the problem of over-fishing in a move which would bring a greater risk of stock depletion.