BC FISH EUROPE / EU, Canada fish talks resume to ease verbal war (Updates, adds EU, Canadian, Spanish comments)

By Peter Blackburn

BRUSSELS European Union and Canadian officials sought on Tuesday to take some of the heat out of a bitter confrontation between Spain and Canada over fishing rights in international waters off Newfoundland.

Technical negotiations on fisheries conservation and monitoring measures which began in Brussels after the dispute flared up earlier this month became a focal point of efforts to cool trans Atlantic tempers and avoid the possibility of a clash on the high seas.

European Union Fisheries Commissioner Emma Bonino, at a separate United Nations conference on fishing in New York, had said on Monday that the 15 member EU decided without dissent to suspend negotiations with Canada until it stopped harassing EU based fishing vessels.

Bonino accused Canada of international piracy after it cut the nets of a Spanish boat fishing for Greenland halibut (turbot) in international waters off Newfoundland last weekend.

But, in Brussels, European Commission spokesman Nikolaus van der Pas said on Tuesday: "Technical talks resumed this morning (in Brussels) on conservation and monitoring measures. We hope to make additional progress."

Van der Pas said Commission President Jacques Santer had phoned Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien on Monday to say the EU, while concerned by Canada's "illegal" actions, was ready to continue to negotiate.

Santer added, however, that a solution was impossible if Canada renewed such action and that the consequences would extend beyond the fisheries sector, van der Pas said.

In a separate measure, Spain on Tuesday filed a case against Canada at the International Court of Justice over the fisheries dispute. The court, which is the United Nations' main judicial body and also known as the World Court, settles disputes between states in accordance with international law.

The row over rights to turbot fishing turned acrimonious flared on March 9 after Canada seized a Spanish trawler in international waters off Newfoundland.

The Canadians, who announced the arrival in Brussels of senior officials headed by Deputy Fisheries Minister Bill Rowat, also adopted a more constructive approach.

"We have been making progress on a number of key conservation questions, including control and enforcement," Jacques Roy, Canada's ambassador to the EU, said.

"We hope to continue progress towards an early agreement," he added in a statement.

Spanish Agriculture and Fisheries Minister Luis Atienza said Spain wanted a negotiated settlement.

"Spain supports diplomatic efforts," Atienza told reporters after a meeting with the EU's Bonino.

But he added that the dispute could only be settled if incidents in international waters stopped. "It's still not clear if Canada will continue harassing Spanish vessels," he said, adding that they couldn't be left defenceless. There are an estimated 19 Spanish vessels fishing in the disputed area.