Hypocritical’ EU gives €34.5m to fleets fishing tuna to extinction
chatnoir
headline:
Hypocritical’ EU gives €34.5m to fleets fishing tuna to extinction
The European Union has given out tens of millions of euros to
subsidise the Mediterranean tuna fishing fleets despite warnings from
scientists that overfishing is pushing the species close to
extinction.
Between 2000 and 2008 a total of €34.5 million (£31.4 million) was
given by the EU to support the fishing fleets, Joe Borg, the European
Commissioner, revealed after a parliamentary question from a Spanish
MEP.
“I am shocked at the scale of the subsidies given to the bluefin
fleet,” said Raül Romeva i Rueda, who represents the European Green
Party. “This shows clearly the hypocrisy of the EU, which insists on
the need to conserve fish stocks while simultaneously encouraging the
rapid expansion of a fleet that was already too large.”
Spain received more than half of the subsidy, with French and Italian
fleets the next biggest beneficiaries. Cyprus, Malta and Greece were
also given money. ... (cont)