EU fisheries ministers reached agreement Friday on 2009 fish quotas, with a big increase in permitted catches of cod in the North Sea but cuts elsewhere.
They also agreed to tackle the problem of fish that are thrown back and left to die because they are too small, the wrong species or because fishermen do not have a quota to bring them back to market.Environmental groups have long attacked the so-called practice of discarding, which they say can make up half the fish caught on average and which they consider to be a huge waste.
"We have managed to strike a balance," said French Agriculture Minister Michel Barnier after chairing the meeting in Brussels, where a unanimous compromise agreement was reached in a second day of negotiations.
"We found the always very difficult balance, in a good atmosphere, between responsibly and sustainably managing fragile resources and fishermen's interests," he added.
EU reaches agreement on 2009 fish quotas
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