Publication Name

Associated Press

Author(s)

Raf Casert

The European Union's audit office said Monday that the €1.7 billion ($2.25 billion) program to combat fish stock depletion through fleet reduction has been a failure.

EU Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki promised to revamp the policy under which almost 90 per cent of fish stocks, such as cod and bluefin tuna, are overfished.

For the last two decades, the EU had hoped to protect threatened fish stocks by subsidizing the scrapping of excessive fishing vessels. The European Court of Auditors said that was a mistake.

...

"They have blindly spent on scrapping and it has been massively bad," said Markus Knigge, adviser to the Pew Environment Group.

Later this week, EU fisheries ministers will meet in Brussels to agree on the annual quotas for Atlantic fleets.

Read the full article, Auditors: EU Policy to Cut Fishing Fleet has Failed; Bloc Promises New Approach on the Winnipeg Free Press website.