There has been a change in the approach by the new European Commissioner for Fisheries and Maritime Affairs, Mr Joe Borg, towards the conservation of seriously depleted fish stocks. Rather than recommend swingeing cuts in quotas - which ministers of member-states traditionally modified and fishermen largely ignored - he has opted for smaller reductions, but on the basis that they should continue for several years.
He has also proposed the partial closure of damaged cod fisheries in the Celtic Sea and off the north coast of Scotland. This follows the absolute closure of sections of the North Sea to cod fishing, once Europe's most productive grounds, and of the Irish Sea.
The proposals will not, in themselves, reverse the decline in fish stocks. Too many boats, from too many countries, are chasing too few fish. The approach by Mr Borg may, however, buy a little time in which rational policies, designed to protect and sustain an invaluable resource, can be put in place. The Commissioner speaks of striking a balance between what is biologically necessary and economically reasonable. But when the fishery interests of member-states collide, there is little space for logic or reason.
In recent years, the Irish fishing industry has argued for the introduction of technical conservation measures, such as larger mesh sizes, the establishment of nursery areas and limited fishing times. It has also supported the establishment of regional management structures. The latest proposals from the Commission, which would close an estimated 1,500 square miles of the Celtic Sea to cod fishing for a three-month period in 2005, has received a broad welcome because, in compensation, Irish fishermen will be allowed to increase their catches of certain whitefish species. A similar concession has been offered to English fishermen in return for the partial closure of the cod fishery off their south coast. The alternative would have involved the imposition of a blanket ban on cod fishing in the Celtic Sea, as recommended by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea.
Fishery ministers will meet in Brussels within two weeks to discuss these proposals and to engage in their annual carve-up of quotas. And scientific advice on the status of fish stocks and the catches they can sustain will, almost certainly, be ignored. On this occasion, the partial closure of cod fisheries will help. But it is only a partial solution. Until equitable, enforceable and rational conservation measures are put in place with the agreement of fishermen, the slide towards an ecological disaster will continue.