5 aprile 1995

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SOMMARIO. La Commissaria europea Emma Bonino fissa le regole che dovranno presiedere alla riforma della normativa della pesca nel mediterraneo.

STRASBOURG The European Parliament urged the Council on Wednesday to adjust recent rules on the conservation of fishery resources in the Mediterranean.

Noting that regulation 1626/94 was "causing serious problems to Italian fishermen", the parliament asked for changes and further appropriate transitional measures.

Fisheries Commissioner Emma Bonino told the parliament on Monday that the Fisheries Council on Thursday would have an opportunity to discuss the issue, but stressed the Commission would not be ready to accept a transitional period of more than three years.

"The Commission would maintain that any adjustment must be limited to a maximum of three years," she said.

The parliament stressed in its non binding resolution on the issue that any solutions to the Italian problem must not harm the conservation of species in the Mediterranean, where overfishing had already contributed to the decline of stocks.

But it noted that current rules on minimum fish and net mesh size failed to allow for the biological diversity of the Mediterranean or for traditional fishing methods in the zone.