The Fisheries Council has adopted a long-term recovery plan for southern hake and Norway lobster stocks off the Iberian Peninsula
The measures adopted on Monday 24th will ensure a gradual reduction in the amount of fishing effort applied to these stocks until they return to safe biological levels. In the case of Norway lobster, two areas will be closed: the one off the north-west coast of Spain will be closed to bottom trawlers from 1 June to 31 August while the other, located to the south-west of Portugal, will be closed from 1 May to 31 August. To safeguard the benefit gained by these temporary bans, Portugal and Spain, which are the two Member States concerned, will have to ensure that there is no increase in the amount of fishing effort in these areas, outside the closed periods, as compared to the equivalent periods in the same areas in 2004.
