FISHERIES Commissioner Franz Fischler has called on member states to make further cuts in their fleets to reduce the risk of overfishing

Date: 11/05/2000

Fischler said the Union's programme for reducing overcapacity (MAGP IV) had not been effective enough in tackling the problem of too many vessels chasing too few fish. He has suggested changing the way reductions rates are calculated, achieving more cuts by scrapping vessels instead of limiting fishing activity and extending the programme by an extra year until 2002.