The Daily Telegraph

by David Brown, Fisheries correspondent

Britain must cut its fishing fleet further this year or face a new challenge in the European Court, Emma Bonino, Fisheries Commissioner, said yesterday.

She said Britain was lagging far behind EU targets, with the next round of cuts due to be agreed by ministers in December.

Under obligations aimed at matching the EU fleet to diminishing fish stocks, Britain was about 15 per cent behind schedule and needed to remove nearly 10.000 tons of capacity - about 300 vessels.

In 1995 53 million was spent in decommissioning 164 vessels.

Mrs Bonino said that, by failing to meet targets, Britain had already lost its share of 1.2 billion in EU funds for restructuring fleets. Spain, by contrast, had met its targets.

If Britain had not met its present targets.

If Britain had not met its present targets by the end of this year, she added, the European Commission could start preliminary steps towards European Court action.

Latest EU figures show that Britain has the third most powerful main commercail fishing fleet in the community, with 9,993 vessels totalling 239,783 tons and 1,104,406 kilowatts of catching power.

Spain has the most powerful with 18,348 vessels totalling 659,672 tons and 1,633,290 kilowatts of catching power.

Mrs Bonino also challenged the Government's aim to stop foreign vessels re-registering in this country to capture some of Britain's fish quotas.

"Personally I think the fisheries policy is a Community policy and we should not tamper with it", she said at a Brussels press conference.

Britain, she said, should accept the European Court ruling in a "wider context".

The policy of free movement of people, capital and goods would benefit British farmers, for example, who bought land and produced food in other EU countries.

In a bleak forecast, Mrs Bonino gave a warning of "social and economic hardship" in all fishing states of the EU as the catching power of fishing fleets was reduced further to conserve dwindling stocks.

Mrs Bonino will tour British fishing ports next weekend. After visiting Aberdeen and Peterhead, Scotland, she will meet fishermen's leaders in Newlyn, Cornwall, and Brixham, Devon.

On April 18 up to 3,000 fishermen are expected to support a protest in London against the Common Fisheries Policy, organised by the Save Britain's Fish Campaign which wants Britain to withdraw unilaterally from the policy.