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Planet Ark
24th December 2002
Ireland has threatened to go to the European Court of Justice to keep Spanish fishing boats out of its coastal waters in what the country's fisheries minister warned could become a "a war of the seas".
Ireland's failure to get temporary restrictions on Spanish boats' access to Irish waters extended in last week's European Union fisheries conservation pact leaves the Irish fearing the "fishing out" of their rich but ecologically sensitive waters.
"We'll take it to the European Commission in the first instance, but to the Court of Justice ultimately if we're not happy with its decision," a spokesman for the Department of the Marine & Natural Resources told Reuters.
Spain said last week's agreement enshrined its right to fish inside the "Irish box" that forms a rectangle extending for up to 80 miles around the island.
"The agreement recognises the right of Spain and Portugal to fish in community waters," said a spokesman for Spain's agriculture and fishing ministry.
He added he expected 200 Spanish ships, mainly from the Cantabrian area of northern Spain, to take advantage of unfettered access to the 'box'.
The existing agreement, which European Commission legal experts said expires on December 31, limits access to only 40 Spanish vessels at any time.
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