BRUSSELS, March 10 (Reuter) The European Union strongly supported the right for Spanish and Portuguese vessels to carry on fishing in international waters off the Canadian coast, Carlos Basterreche, Spain's deputy permanent representative to the EU, said on Friday.

"The Union firmly supports the boats fishing there," Basterreche told reporters after an emergency meeting of EU ambassadors.

He said there were currently 18 Spanish vessels off the Newfoundland coast "except for the one that was seized by the Canadian authorities" on Thursday and 10 or 11 Portuguese boats.

The presence of an EU inspection ship in the zone was a guarantee that the catches made by the boats at stake were in line with quotas agreed internationally, Basterreche said.

He welcomed an EU statement earlier on Friday condemning "unanimously" the Canadian decision to seize the Spanish vessel Estai. The EU 15 also adopted retaliation measures consisting in the suspension of scheduled EU Canada meetings and the negotiation of a research agreement. But Basterreche was cautious as to the possible trade sanctions that the European Commission was asked to identify by early next week.

"It is premature to talk about any products," he said, adding that the Commission would be particularly careful that it would not be responding to Canada's "illegal act" with similingly illegal measures.