Many fishermen fear their industry may collapse

Q: What does the agreed deal mean for UK fishermen?

A: For Scottish fishermen who represent 70% of the UK industry, a commitment to avoid trawling cod gives more scope to fish other stocks not deemed in danger.

This includes a 53% increase in their haddock quota, and a 30% increase for North Sea prawns.

Cod and hake catches were frozen at last year's level.

UK fishermen also won an increase in the number of days per month trawlers can put to sea, to 15 - better than the 10 on offer when talks began.

British negotiators also resisted efforts to extend fishing restrictions in the western Channel - a major worry for South West fishermen.

Restrictions are being extended in the Irish Sea, but the cuts on time at sea were not as drastic as feared and quotas rose by an average of 8%.

Longer-term recovery programmes for cod and hake were also agreed, in order to establish sustainable conservation measures which will avoid the current annual bartering.

The key will be enforcement to avoid a repeat of blatant over-fishing in some waters.

Q: What had the UK wanted from the negotiations?

A: The crucial element for the British fishing sector was the number of allowed days at sea.

Scots fishermen had said they needed at least 22 per month to make a living.

Anything less, they said, would result in the collapse of the Scottish fishing industry.

Despite a better deal on time at sea than had been proposed, it remains to be seen whether the increase in some quotas will be enough to prevent this.

Scientists also say it is difficult to catch haddock without catching cod, although Scottish fishermen dispute this.

Q: What had the European Commission proposed?

A: This year, as last, the proposal was not to ban anything, but to reduce the amount of fishing effort - a combination of the amount of fish fishermen are permitted to land and the time allowed at sea - for several species.

But this was less drastic than the action urged by scientific advisers from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES).

For the second year running, they had wanted a ban on cod fishing in the North Sea, Irish Sea and west of Scotland, and on Irish Sea whiting and southern hake.

Q: What were the key issues being negotiated?

A: There were two main items of business. The first was the long-term recovery plan for cod.

Without agreement on this, the commission had said the discussion would not move on to the 2004 quotas for all species.

The belief was fisheries ministers would not accept a long term cod deal - which will involve cutting national fishing fleets - without having already negotiated a decent short-term deal for their fishermen.

European Fisheries Ministers and their officials held a series of bilateral talks about what they wanted and what compromises they would accept.

Q: What had fishermen wanted from the deal?

A: The European Fishing Action Group - an informal alliance of fishermen from across the EU - said the outcome of the council must meet two tests.

It must be consistent with rebuilding fish stocks where there is a demonstrable need, and it must also be consistent with the survival of the fishery sector.

They said scientific advice demonstrated there were actually signs of recovery in cod and hake stocks.

They also said so many ships had recently been decommissioned that remaining boats should be allowed to stay out for longer.

Q: Is there any talk of changing the negotiation process?

A: The annual pre-Christmas fish quota talks are part of EU tradition.

But everybody agrees that the Fishing Council, with its all night negotiations and prime ministers personally lobbying for national interests, is a mad way to run negotiations that are supposed to be about preserving and maintaining stocks for generations to come.

Critics say national interest always takes precedence over the need to preserve dwindling stocks.

Q: What would a long-term fishing plan involve?

A: The idea of having long-term fish plans find favour with fishermen and scientists alike - although there is likely to be considerable disagreement about those plans.

For cod, the long-term recovery plan will come into full effect in 2005.

There is also a recovery plan for southern hake and ICES recommend one for plaice.

Both would meld a combination of reduction in fishing days with a reduction in catch quota, with the aim of enabling dwindling stocks to recover to sustainable levels.