Europe's fisheries chief said today tough fishing restrictions to save cod from extinction were insufficient and called for even more stringent measures.
European Fisheries Commissioner Mr Franz Fischler said temporary measures to halt a collapse in North Sea cod stocks due to years of chronic overfishing were not working.
"The state of stocks is catastrophic and even worse than in previous information," he told the Fisheries Committee of the European Parliament.
Mr Fischler said new scientific information would be released by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) later this week that would reveal the dire state of cod stocks in the North Sea, western Scotland and Irish Sea.
But fishermen have protested that the EU's temporary restrictions, in place since February, are destroying their livelihoods.
Annual cod fishing quotas have been slashed and boats may only go out to sea for 15 days a month. In May, the EU's executive commission launched proposals for a permanent programme aiming to save cod stocks from collapse.
"If necessary, we must be prepared to include even stronger measures in this plan," Mr Fischler told reporters. But he ruled out a total ban on cod fishing, saying it was unrealistic.
European Parliament Fisheries Committee Chairman Struan Stevenson said the earliest date that the proposals could enter force was November as, under EU law, Mr Fischler must seek the opinion of Parliament before ministers may vote on the plan.
AFP