By Alex Kirby
BBC News Online environment correspondent |
 The industry says fish are plentiful |
The annual round of European Union talks to agree permitted fish catches is starting in Brussels. The commission, the EU's executive arm, is proposing to maintain the deep cuts in cod quotas imposed last year.
Scientists say cod catches should be banned completely in the North Sea, the Irish Sea and off western Scotland, to give the stocks a chance to recover.
But many trawlermen say the fish are plentiful and think the scientists are missing clear evidence of abundance.
The fisheries ministers' meeting is expected to last until 19 December, with sessions continuing overnight as they have in previous years.
Last year saw the UK fleet forced to accept a cut of 45% in North Sea cod and fishing days were reduced to 15 days a month.
 The crews fear being kept in port |
The UK Fisheries Minister, Ben Bradshaw, said last week the negotiations would take place against "a difficult background of scientific advice". While prawn, haddock, herring and mackerel stocks were in good shape, he said, there was a serious problem with white fish, and with cod in particular.
But he hoped the council would agree in principle to move from setting catches annually to a longer-term "multi-annual" approach.
Mr Bradshaw said: "We hope very much if we can get agreement in principle on this, it will let the commission feel it can be a bit more generous on some of the TACs (total allowable catches) and catch quotas."
Louis Belanger works in the EU office of WWF, the global environment campaign. He said: "The future of Europe's fish stocks depends on ending unrealistic and politically driven fish quotas, the main cause of the current crisis.
"Short-term political dealing is not the answer to the long-term recovery of fish stocks."
Dr Ian Duncan, of the Scottish Fishermen's Federation, believes the fisheries crisis is not anywhere near as severe as the scientists and politicians say it is.
Different information
He told BBC News Online: "The stock situation is much better than last year across the board - and that includes the cod, which are not galloping ahead but are certainly showing signs of improvement.
"They're even doing fairly well in the three areas where the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (Ices) wants a total ban on fishing.
 Some species are certainly improving |
"In the North Sea they are showing improvement, off the west of Scotland they are static, and in the Irish Sea they're improving fast. "Ices put out what I'd call a well-spun press release several days before their scientists reported. Anyone reading the release would have got the impression things had got worse.
"But the release didn't mention the stocks that were doing well, like prawns and haddock, and the scientists didn't give that impression at all.
Staying in harbour
"The commission is determined to get its cod recovery plan accepted: it's on the table again this week, although it's been rejected twice by the ministers.
"So a key aspect this year will not be catch quotas but fishing effort, the throbbing heart of the commission's plan.
"The quotas are likely to reflect the stock improvement. But the commission wants to cut fishing effort to 10 days a month.
"It's also talking about something called regional advisory councils, which could be an important way of drawing power back from Brussels to the regions, but might just be talking shops."
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A key aspect this year will not be catch quotas but fishing effort, the throbbing heart of the commission's plan 
