Union agonises on fish quotas to save cod

European fisheries ministers look set for many hours of tough talking this week to agree a way to save several species of fish, mainly cod, from extinction without driving thousands of fishermen into bankruptcy.

Little progress has so far been made in the marathon meeting, which aims to set permitted fishing quotas for EU states next year - likely to be drastically lower than last - and take emergency action to stop the decline in cod stocks.

The EU's executive Commission insists that after years of over-fishing, massive quota cuts are needed to prevent cod's total disappearance from European waters.

Stocks of the fish, a culinary staple in several European countries, are at the lowest ever recorded.

Complicating matters this year is the fact that ministers must also agree on reform of the EU's Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), widely blamed for sparking the current cod crisis.

Fishermen say the combination of hefty quota cuts, Commission reform plans for reducing fleet size and phasing out subsidies for new vessels will destroy tens of thousands of jobs and entire coastal communities.

At least one all-night session is now expected for the 15 ministers to thrash out their differences. Most delegations are keen to see the Commission further dilute its original proposals for quota reductions, which called for a 79 per cent cut for cod.

Ministers will reconvene today following individual meetings with the Commission and EU president Denmark.

It is likely to be a marathon negotiating session. Last year's quota deal took 28 hours of non-stop talks to achieve.

"This afternoon we will try to analyse the results of the bilaterals," said one EU diplomat, adding that Denmark would now table a compromise deal. "It looks difficult but not impossible."

Scientists are convinced that unless action is taken this year, there really will be nothing left to fish in the future. Cod and other species could become extinct, with all the environmental consequences that could bring.

France, one of a group of mainly southern member states that are broadly opposed to the reform plans and sharp quota cuts - the most severe in the CFP's 20-year history - was pessimistic that any deal could be reached soon.

"We could easily have deadlock on this by the end of the week. For the moment, the positions are not moving," French Fisheries Minister Herve Gaymard told reporters.

"If there is deadlock by the weekend, this will become a matter for heads of state. It would move up one level."

Current EU president Denmark has threatened to drag the meeting into the weekend if no deal is reached, although ministers already have a tentative date of January 8 for further discussion if the deadlock proves insurmountable.