Sir, - I refer to Lorna Siggins's report entitled "Minister to announce £40m fleet investment" (The Irish Times, June 22nd). Ms Siggins speaks of "the expanding Spanish fleet", a pronouncement which is simply untrue. In fact, there has been a reduction in the number of Spanish fishing vessels (19,719 to 17,898), in tonnage (683,211 to 440,146) and in horse power (2,029,798 to 1,456,748) between 1987 and 1997. Moreover, Spain was already complying with MAGP4 before its official implementation, and although some of the fleet is still being renovated, the downward trend is continuing.
I believe your readers should be made aware of the inaccuracies in Ms Siggins's article. - Yours, etc., Rafael Cavestany,
Fisheries Counsellor, Spanish Embassy, London SW1.
Lorna Siggins writes: Statistically, Spain cannot be faulted in meeting the fleet tonnage targets set by the European Commission. However, Spain has taken the initiative to modernise vessels to improve catching power, and has also registered extensively under the flags of other EU states.