LONDON, March 18 (Reuter) - European Union Fisheries Commissioner Emma Bonino said on Monday British fishermen had lost out on EU grants because the government had not made available the money needed to trigger payments. The government also failed to take legal action to stop so-called "quota-hoppers" -- foreign fishermen buying up boats in Britain to take advantage of their quotas, Bonino said. She was speaking after a tour of fishing ports in Scotland and south west England where she has faced strong criticism from fishermen angered at European rules which they say are unfair for the British industry. Fishermen and Prime Minister John Major's government have been angered by a European Court of Justice decision last week which means Britain could face claims for damages from nearly 100 Spanish fishing firms banned from British waters in 1989. British Fisheries Minister Tony Baldry last week attacked the ruling, which he said would favour about 150 "quota hoppers" flying flags of convenience to fish on the British register and taking about 20 percent of the British offshore catch. Britain has vowed to raise the issue at European inter-governmental conference starting in Turin at the end of March to review the way the European Union functions. But Bonino said there were perfectly legal ways of curbing quota hopping which could have avoided a court ruling. "We are convinced there is scope to find non-discriminatory ways to solve the problem," Bonino told reporters. Quotas are administered by national governments, which could legally require boats to land catches in Britain and to make regular visits to their British home ports, she said. Bonino said Britain could also have won European grants to pay British fishermen wanting to get rid of their boats, so avoiding their sale to Spaniards. But from 1986 to 1995, the government failed to provide the funds needed to trigger payments. "The United Kingdom...has not used money which has been available in
recent years," she said. Under EU rules, national governments must provide 30 percent f the total and the EU pays the rest. The money is designed to cut the size of the overall fishing fleet. As a result, British fishermen have lost out on 12 million pounds of EU funds and -- because Britain's fleet has doubled rather than shrunk -- the country is not eligible for further EU funds to help modernise the industry, she said. "The basic problem worldwide is there are too many fishermen and too few fish," Bonino said. Cuts in capacity were essential. But the EU did have funds to help the industry adapt if governments chose to use them, she said. "We have no way to stop the change but we can ease the transition." REUTER
