Don’t fish now if you want fish later, EC tells French, Spanish Anchovy talks are coming up next week, for the EU fisheries ministers.

One of the big questions is whether to let them swim free for another three months. This is what the European Commission is proposing. There has been a temporary ban on anchovy fishing since July. But Brussels is pleading for more time to let stocks recover.

It says otherwise the overfished species might be heading for extinction in European waters. France and Spain are the most concerned. Lying on the North Atlantic coastlines of both countries, the Bay of Biscay is the key trawling ground for the fish. The Commission also intends to propose for next year a quota for anchovy fishing in that area of zero tonnes.

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