New push to ban drift nets

Date: 08/05/1997

By Michael Mann

FISHERIES Commissioner Emma Bonino is launching a new initiative aimed at resolving a bitter three-year dispute over banning the use of drift nets in EU waters.

In a series of meetings with key member states which began this week, Bonino is suggesting a compromise which would phase out drift net fishing for tuna in the north Atlantic but exempt salmon fishing in inland waters and the Baltic from the proposed ban.

Three years ago, Bonino's predecessor Yannis Paleokrassas proposed a total phase-out of drift net fishing by the start of 1998. But in the face of massive opposition, the plan has languished on the shelf ever since.

Kicked into action at last month's meeting of fisheries ministers by a Spanish initiative, Bonino's officials are now working hurriedly towards a compromise in time for the next ministerial meeting on 23 June.

Spain has a strong vested interest in ending the use of drift nets - special nets which can be up to 2.5 kilometres long - as its fishermen, principally from the Basque region, catch tuna with the more traditional pole-and-line fishing method.

Greece has already expressed support for the Spanish position and it has also won the backing of Italy, which has now received 100 million ecu in structural fund aid to compensate its fishermen after agreeing to phase out the practice in the Mediterranean.

Germany is also prepared to support a prohibition on condition that the Baltic Sea is exempted. Bonn has to answer to the ecological concerns of a public which objects strongly to the damage done to the dolphin population by the use of drift nets.

But Bonino can expect serious problems persuading France, the UK and Ireland to phase out drift net fishing in the Atlantic.

French Minister Philippe Vasseur has already reiterated his government's opposition to the ban, claiming it would force the masters of the 40 or so French vessels operating in the region to switch to fishing for other stocks.

Although their fleets are much smaller, Ireland and the UK will also need to be persuaded with considerable charm, or money, to stop their fishermen from hunting tuna.

The approach of the original deadline for a total ban to come into force has brought a new impetus for a deal. Urgency has been added by the imminent start of the season in the waters surrounding the Azores, which continues until mid-autumn as the fish move northwards into the Bay of Biscay.

The issue first came to prominence back in 1994 when French and Spanish operators clashed in the Bay of Biscay.

An EU patrol vessel has managed to prevent similar encounters ever since, but the European Commission has decided to put its inspectors on board national patrol boats this year because of the costs of chartering its own vessel.

Greenpeace, which has been lobbying for a ban since 1989, believes that “as a consequence, EU rules are likely to be flouted again”.