BC FISH BRITAIN/Canada thanks Cornish fishermen for support

NEWLYN, England, April 11 (Reuter) Canada's top diplomat in Britain personally thanked hundreds of Cornish fishermen on Tuesday for backing his country in a North Atlantic fishery row with the European Union.

High Commissioner (ambassador) Royce Frith met the fishing crews of Cornwall who have flown the Canadian flag in support of Ottawa.

The European Union is negotiating with Canada over fishing rights in North Atlantic waters for Spain and Portugal following the seizure of a Spanish trawler in March by Canadian gunboats.

Fishermen in this area of southwestern England are angry about Spanish fishing in what they consider traditional British fishing grounds and wanted to show solidarity with Canada, which is opposing what it calls Spain's illegal fishing.

Frith said he hoped his trip would help drum up support for Canada in the dispute.

"There's been quite a bit of movement on our side. We're hoping they'll show some on their side," Frith told London News Radio. "They're going to have to budge. They're going to have to be flexible. Everyone else is being flexible."

Canadian Fisheries Minister Brian Tobin on Monday threatened action by Wednesday to protect fish off Canada's shores if no agreement is approved. British Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd said a failure would lead to anarchy on the high seas.

Mike Townsend, head of the Cornish Fish Producers' Organisation, said local fishermen were united in their desire to fly the "maple leaf" flag.

"It's a spontaneous response to the Canadian situation," Townsend said. "They're on all the boats in Cornwall now, right the way through Devon and all over the country."

He added: "The EU is adopting a stance which has lost its credibility with the fishing industry as a whole. We welcome the stand which has been made at last by the Canadian government. It has seized the moral high ground."