IRISH fishermen can expect a 15% increase in their income next year after a deal was reached on the amount of fish they can take out of the sea at marathon negotiations in Brussels.

EU nations are close to agreeing on measures to save the lives of thousands of dolphins and porpoises caught accidentally in fishing nets, officials said today.

Talks to agree the depth of more fishing cuts were still going on in Brussels today.

Fishermen are braced for another round of devastating cuts in the name of conservation today, as the annual haggling over catches gets under way in Brussels.