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9 December, 2009
THE THIRD round of negotiations between the EU and Norway to
set total allowable catches and other fisheries arrangements
for shared stocks such as North Sea cod and haddock have
broken down without agreement on Tuesday.
Scottish Fishermen's Federation chief executive Bertie
Armstrong said that failure to reach agreement after five
weeks of talks would add further difficulty and
complications to the fisheries management arrangements for
2010.
The main stumbling block was over arrangements for the
Norwegians to fish for mackerel in EU waters. These are
normally agreed quite quickly, but have become the major
topic after Norwegian vessels were stopped from fishing
their remaining mackerel quota in EU waters in October.
With the European Commission end of year fisheries council
due to commence next week to decide upon fishing opportunity
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2010, the failure to
reach agreement with Norway adds further uncertainty to an
already difficult situation, Mr Armstrong said.
In the past the EU-Norway talks had already concluded before
going into the Europe wide negotiations.
"At this stage it is too early to assess what the breakdown
in these talks will mean for Scottish fishermen in 2010 and
it is possible that the current arrangements will be rolled
over into next year.
"However, the failure in these negotiations does add extra
uncertainty in what is already a very difficult situation
for Scottish fishermen.
"It is now more vital than ever that a fair and sensible
arrangement is agreed at next week's fish council meeting."
It is believed the EU has offered to resume talks with
Norway in the New Year.
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