Brussels tells endangered Scots fisheries that ban on cod fishing may be commuted

In a press release issued on 11 November 2002 the European Commission said it was exploring ways to preserve the United Kingdom's whitefish stocks without shutting down the industry. Franz Fischler, European Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development and Fisheries, said he was willing to explore a range of methods to conserve threatened cod stocks in the North Sea and neighbouring fisheries short of a close-down in fishing. However European Union fishery experts have warned that such fish stocks can be fully protected only by a moratorium on whitefish catches.

http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/02/1647&format=HTML&rapid=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/02/1647&format=HTML&rapid=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

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