EU adopts emergency aid package for fishing sector

[phantom power]

BRUSSELS (AFP) — EU fisheries ministers adopted late Tuesday an emergency aid package worth up to two billion euros to help fishermen cope with soaring fuel prices, the EU's French presidency said.

"Political agreement was reached by a qualified majority on urgent measures for the fishing sector," the presidency said, as the ministers met into the evening in Brussels.

The European Commission says that fuel prices for fishing boats have soared 240 percent since 2002, putting severe pressure on a sector already struggling to cope with overcapacity and dwindling fish stocks.

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hJvEF-iM3R5H4SgSgMKxeUbTep4w

[hogwyld]

1. Instead of subsidizing the fleets

They should just use that money to retrain the fishermen for other employment. As long as they use petroleum, they will always complain about costs.

[Nihil]

2. What a pointless waste of money.

> The European Commission says that fuel prices for fishing boats have soared
> 240 percent since 2002, putting severe pressure on a sector already
> struggling to cope with overcapacity and dwindling fish stocks.

So, in the face of this "overcapacity and dwindling fish stocks" and looking
forward to ever-increasing fuel prices, what do they do? Piss more money into
keeping the excessively large & environmentally devastating fleet going for
another indeterminate period of time.

:banghead: