By Jeremy Gaunt

REUTER 15/3/1995

BRUSSELS The European Commission on Wednesday dismissed Canadian claims of wrongdoing by the detained Spanish trawler Estai, saying anything found after an illegal seizure was suspect.

"We certainly consider invalid any inspection that follows the seizure," a Commission spokesman told a news conference. "Once you've done that, you can find anything you want."

Canada has charged that the Estai, which it seized in international waters off Newfoundland last Thursday, was carrying dual logs and a shipload of undersized fish.

"There are two distinct captain's logs, two sets of books, and one doesn't square with the other," Canadian Fisheries Minister Brian Tobin told reporters on Tuesday.

Canadian officals, who say their seizure was based on conservation concerns, have also said that 79 percent of the Greenland halibut, or turbot, on the Estai were immature, threatening the species' ability to sustain itself.

The Commission spokesman said that the Estai, which is still being held in St John's, Newfoundland, had been inspected 12 times last year by EU, Canadian and other fishing nations' officials.

Asked whether 12 inspections in a year was unusually high, the spokesman would only say that it demonstrated the EU's openness.

The spokesman repeated the EU's position that no negotiations with Canada could take place until the ship had been released.

European Fisheries Commissioner Emma Bonino said on Tuesday that she was ready to begin negotiations as of 9 o'clock (0800 GMT) on Wednesday morning, providing the Estai, its crew and captain were freed.

The crew has been told by Canada that they may leave, while the captain has been released on bail and told he need not return for a later court date.

Bonino, in Strasbourg, France to address the European Parliament, told Reuters her conditions for talks had not been met.

"The juridical situation is not settled so we will have no formal meeting at nine," she said.

The Commission spokesman in Brussels emphasised that the offer was still open.

"There is no ultimatum," he said.