REUTER 15/3/1995

OTTAWA Canada said on Wednesday it had recovered the nets from the Spanish fishing trawler it seized last week and found new evidence the vessel had broken international regulations.

Fisheries Minister Brian Tobin said the nets, which the crew cut loose before the trawler Estai was seized, violated several international rules.

He also said Canadian inspectors Wednesday found a hidden storage room behind a false bulkhead in the Estai that was holding 25 tonnes of American plaice.

"American plaice is a flatfish that is under NAFO (Northwest Atlantic Fishing Organisation) moratorium, that has been under NAFO moratorium for some years," Tobin told reporters.

"So there is some indication that all was not well aboard this boat."

Such evidence forms the heart of Canada's case that Spanish vessels have been dangerously overfishing in international waters off the province of Newfoundland.

Tobin had said 80 percent of the Greenland halibut, or turbot, found aboard the Estai were immature fish that could have only been caught with nets with holes smaller than allowed by NAFO.

The net found Wednesday by using satellite technology had a mesh size of 115 mm (4 1/2 inches), smaller than NAFO's minimum of 130 mm (5 1/8 inches), he said.

Additionally, it had a liner inside the net, which he said was "strictly improper" regardless of the size of its mesh. He said the liner also had holes of only 80 mm (3 1/8 inches), again smaller than NAFO requirements.

The combined effect is that younger fish would be caught and the fish would not be able to reproduce as easily.

"I think the recovery of the net was quite powerful," he said.

Canada released the seized trawler on Wednesday, as Ottawa and the European Union moved close to settling their high seas standoff. Canada said all conditions had been met to resume talks with the European Union on their fishing dispute.

The Estai had been seized in international waters last Thursday after Canadian patrol boats fired shots across its bow.

Tobin said on Tuesday the Estai had maintained two captain's logs, one apparently for NAFO inspectors and one for the captain's own use, and the two sets of figures were not the same.

European Union officials have said they do not accept the evidence taken from the Estai after it was seized. They claim the ship was illegally seized by Canada.