display

Brussels (dpa) - The EU fisheries ministers are negotiating fishing quotas for the North Sea and the Atlantic for the coming year, among other things.

Since there is as yet no trade agreement between the EU and Great Britain for the period from 2021 onwards, there is great uncertainty, especially for the North Sea quotas.

It is still completely unclear whether and to what extent fishermen from EU countries such as Germany or France will have access to British territorial waters.

An agreement on the catch quotas could possibly only emerge during the night or in the course of Wednesday, it said in advance.

Because Germany continues to hold the chairmanship of the EU states until the end of the year, Federal Agriculture Minister Julia Klöckner (CDU) is leading the talks.

The meeting in Brussels will also deal with nutrition labeling on foods and a Europe-wide animal welfare label.

display

The Brexit negotiations have no impact on the catch quotas for the Mediterranean and Black Sea.

Results for the North Sea and the Northeast Atlantic, however, are only likely to be provisional.

Because they are subject to British approval.

The plan is to extend the current quotas for three months.

However, that too is complicated and will likely require long negotiations.

Technical details need to be clarified - for example because some stocks are mainly fished at the beginning of the year, others later.

For Germany, the North Sea fishery is particularly important, for example for herring.

Large fishing nations like Spain and France, on the other hand, are negotiating hard on the Atlantic fishing quotas that are important to them.

display

The talks are usually based on a submission from the EU Commission.

This is primarily based on recommendations from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES).

On this basis, the EU states determine the so-called total allowable catches every year.

Many fish stocks are in a rather poor condition.

It is therefore primarily a matter of reconciling the interests of the fishing industry with environmental concerns.

Due to the lack of a Brexit agreement, the EU Commission has not submitted a proposal for the North Sea stocks.

Instead, the agency proposed a legal framework last week that should apply until December 31, 2021 - or until a fisheries agreement with the UK.

This agreement is intended to regulate the access of British fishing trawlers into EU waters and vice versa.

Great Britain would have to agree, however.

© dpa-infocom, dpa: 201215-99-695849 / 2