By Fredrik Dahl

BRUSSELS, Aug 30 (Reuter) - Fisheries Commissioner Emma

Bonino said on Wednesday she was confident about reaching an

agreement with Oslo in a dispute about the fishing of

spring-spawning herring in international waters off Norway.

Speaking to reporters after a meeting in Brussels with

Norwegian Fisheries Minister Jan Henry Olsen, Bonino said the

two had agreed to "create the conditions" for a discussion on

conservation measures of the fish.

The discussion would take place in the North-East Atlantic

Fisheries Commission (NEAFC) which meets in November.

"I think we have a common interest in the conservation of

this stock...so we will see the result of this process, but I'm

quite confident that we will find an agreement," Bonino said.

She said the two sides had agreed to hold preparatory talks

ahead of the NEAFC meeting.

Norway angered the EU earlier this year by preventing Danish

fishermen from unloading their catches of spring-spawning

herring in Norwegian ports.

The Commission believes Oslo is breaking the European

Economic Area (EEA) agreement by its actions against fishermen

from an EU country.

The 18-nation EEA, which came into being in early 1994,

expands the internal market of the 15-nation EU to include

EFTA-members Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.

But Norway, fearing the consequences of unregulated fishing

of the species, is interpreting the EEA agreement differently.

Oslo believes it has a right to ban landing from a fish

stock on which there is a "serious disagreement."

Until a few years ago the spring-spawning herring was only

available in Norwegian waters.

But then it started to migrate, making it available to

fishermen from Denmark, the Netherlands and Britain, prompting

Norwegian concerns about the protection of the fish stocks.

Norwegian officials have said Oslo wants the EU to stop the

fishing until regulatory measures have been implemented to

ensure a sustainable harvest.

Bonino said she hoped for a better "understanding" between

the two sides in the future.

"Conservation is my goal, not because of generosity...I

simply think that if there is no fish there is no future for the

sector," Bonino said.

The next fishing season of the spring-spawning herring

starts in March and Bonino indicated she hoped there would be an

agreement before then.

The EU would ask for a quota of the fish stock but she said

no figures had been discussed at Wednesday's meeting.

She also said there had been an agreement to hold regular

meetings at civil servant level to prevent future disagreements

between the EU and Norway, which rejected membership of the bloc

in a referendum in November last year.

REUTER