Brussels (AFP)

The 27 on Thursday approved the extension for three months of EU fishing quotas for stocks shared with the British, as well as a further reduction in fishing in the Mediterranean - less than expected after tough talks with the Spain, France and Italy.

The European Ministers of Agriculture and Fisheries, meeting in Brussels, have decided to renew in the first quarter of 2021 the 2020 catch quotas for most of the Atlantic and North Sea stocks, due to a lack of perspective on the 'outcome of post-Brexit negotiations.

Out of some 150 stocks at stake, only 25 are not shared with the British: the others will be covered by these "provisional" quotas intended to be renegotiated after the possible agreement between Brussels and London on their post-Brexit relationship which could restrict the access of European Union fishermen to UK waters.

"It is a guarantee (...) without which the fishermen would not have been able to continue their activities on 1 January", explained at a press conference the German Minister Julia Klöckner whose country holds the rotating presidency of the EU.

Exceptions have been made for species mainly fished at the start of the year (mackerel, blue whiting) or certain particularly threatened stocks (northern shrimp for example).

On the other hand, a compromise was painfully forged in the western Mediterranean, after an entire night of talks.

Madrid, Paris and Rome fiercely opposed the European Commission's proposal to reduce fishing effort (number of days at sea) by 15% in 2021 in the area, after a first drop of 10% this year, in order to to preserve dangerously abused fishery resources.

Ultimately, the drop will only be 7.5%, according to the agreement reached early in the morning.

"I am delighted (...) I firmly defended the interests of French fishermen and the sector in the Mediterranean", already tested by the health crisis, French Minister of the Sea Annick Girardin told AFP .

Conversely, Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevicius was disappointed.

"I openly regret that the ministers did not fully take into account the scientific recommendations by approving more ambitious efforts," he lamented to the press.

"This would have made it possible to rebuild fish stocks to sustainable levels" while preserving the viability of fishermen in the long term, he criticized, recalling that 19 of the 22 stocks of demersal species concerned are subject to a "dramatic overfishing".

Julia Klöckner praised "a good balance": "We must ensure that fish stocks regenerate properly, but we must also keep in mind that fishing is an important economic sector".

Experts criticized Thursday the agreement obtained.

"The short term continues to dictate decisions despite the environmental emergency," lamented Vera Coelho of the NGO Oceana.

According to her, scientific advice for preservation was not respected for around 35% of the catch limits (place in the Bay of Biscay, sole off Ireland, cod in southern Sweden, etc.).

The EU's decision to "continue overfishing in its own waters" is "shameful" and the renewal of quotas for stocks shared with the British "could lead to overfishing that will be difficult to reverse", abounded Rebecca Hubbard from the NGO Our Fish.

In France, the CNPMEM fishermen's organization praised "the pugnacity of the Minister and her team for having enabled French fishermen to be able to continue their activities and ensure the economic profitability of their businesses, especially for those in the Mediterranean, even if the less stringent management measures than those proposed by the European Commission will remain impactful ".

The CNPMEM underlined at the same time that the professionals remained in full "fog" as for the sustainability of their activities at the end of the discussions with the United Kingdom, and asked that fishing should not be "the adjustment variable. of Brexit in the last moments of negotiations ".

© 2020 AFP