An ecological group urged the European Union Wednesday to extend its ban on anchovy fishing in the Bay of Biscay until stocks there have recovered enough to allow for sustainable fishing.
BRUSSELS, Belgium — An ecological group urged the European Union Wednesday to extend its ban on anchovy fishing in the Bay of Biscay until stocks there have recovered enough to allow for sustainable fishing.
The European Commission said this week that anchovy fishing will be banned in the Bay of Biscay until Dec. 31 to rescue stocks from overfishing by Spanish and French fishermen.
The EU ban originally ran from July 2005 through last February. But acting on scientific advice, the EU reintroduced the ban this week, saying adult anchovy stocks amount to less than 19,000 tons, far below a level of 28,000 tons considered the minimum for sustainable fishing.
Oceana, a global environmental group, said the French and Spanish governments have allowed "anchovy fishing to continue with ridiculously high quotas."
It welcomed the renewal of the fishing ban but said it should not end on Dec. 31.
"The fishing grounds should not be reopened until we are absolutely sure that the stock has recovered and the anchovy biomass is large enough to allow sustainable fishing in the future," Oceana said in a statement.
Politicians in France and Spain have shown "their inability to manage fisheries," it added. "Clear and unequivocal scientific criteria need to be established, and only when these are met should fishing activities resume."
Source: Associated Press
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