(From euobserver.com) Brussels – The European Union has adopted an emergency aid package worth up to €2 billion to help the struggling fishing sector tackle the current fuel crisis, including monies previously announced, with €600 million in extra cash to be added to the existing funds.
“A large amount of money has been spent on the fisheries sector over the past few years and yet overcapacity and overfishing persist, the condition of the marine environment continues to deteriorate and the fisheries sector is still in crisis,” said Xavier Pastor, European chief of Oceana, an NGO working to protect the oceans, “Expenditure should focus on drastically reducing European fleet capacity, supporting moves towards a smaller, more environmentally friendly fishing fleet and not continuing to finance overfishing,” he added.