Member states’ ministers reached an agreement on the total amount of fish EU vessels can catch next year in the early hours of Saturday morning, increasing many of the quotas proposed by the European Commission.

According to an initial analysis conducted by advocacy group Oceana, the approved fishing limits ignore 41% of the ‘maximum sustainability yields’ which have been recommended by scientists to sustain fish populations. The “precautionary proposal” tabled by the Commission in November was rejected by member states, Oceana said, with higher quotas being set based on short-term national interests.

But ministers hailed the agreement as a balanced approach that would protect fishing fleets. Richard Benyon, the UK’s fisheries minister, said he had secured the best possible deal for Britain. Simon Coveney, Ireland’s agriculture minister,  said the quotas “will allow the Irish fishing fleet to look forward to 2012 with optimism”.

In British and Irish waters, the increase in quotas was offset by increased restrictions on the number of days vessels can fish. But the number of allowable fishing days was increased from the Commission’s original proposal. Fishing quotas were set for the North Sea, Atlantic Ocean and Black Sea. Quotas for the Baltic Sea were agreed in October.

The Commission’s proposal to set default quotas for fish stocks with poor data was also modified. A blanket quota of either 15% or 25% was set for stocks for which the available data are poor, but the bar was lowered for what type of scientific evidence qualifies as ‘good data’. Ministers had said the work of local organisations in providing data should be recognised.

Louize Hill, head of fisheries policy at conservation group WWF, said that the ministers’ agreement contradicted the goals of Common Fisheries Policy reforms proposed this year. “It’s a bit confusing, we should be laying the foundation for the upcoming reform but they are ignoring it,” she said. As an example, she pointed to the abandonment of a long-term management plan for herring in the EU-Norway agreement endorsed on Friday, even though long-term management is a central pillar of the reform.

Separately, on Friday Morocco announced it is expelling EU fishing vessels from its waters. The move comes after the European Parliament voted against extending an EU-Morocco fishing deal.

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Actions against third countries
Ministers were also briefed by the Commission on measures against countries allowing non-sustainable fishing. The proposal was generally well received by ministers, who stressed the need for a specific instrument for the EU to protect fish stocks in neighbouring states.

Ministers also authorised four new varieties of genetically modified crops in Europe during their meeting – three varieties of maize and one variety of cotton. They discussed the Commission’s proposal for a regulation on support for rural development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) within the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Ministers asked for greater consideration to be given to national circumstances.

The ministers adopted a first reading position on updates to rules on vaccination against bluetongue, which is now set for a second reading agreement with the Parliament. They also signed off on new rules that will give the Commission the ability to approve higher EAFRD funding rates for countries experiencing financial difficulties, and came to a political agreement on continuing a food aid fund for another two years.