Unhappy France and Spain compromised at the 12 June meeting so ministers could vote in a framework for tuna and sand eel recovery.
NGOs were also unhappy, saying the deal involved putting minimum size catch plans on hold. The aim, reports Peter O'Neill, is that 40 per cent of eels be allowed to reach the sea, plus more river stocking.
Council agreed North Sea plaice and sole, and multi-annual Baltic cod plans – Baltic TACs and quotas are only down a little, Gulf of Riga is out of bounds, but more flexibility for 8-12m vessels.
Greenland (with Denmark) signed a deal with the EU worth about €18m a year for access to Inuit stocks. RACs are to get 90 per cent of their running costs. The crackdown on imported, alien species in aquaculture will expand.
