Thousands of fishing jobs at risk

THE future of up to 20,000 fishing jobs looked gloomy last night as Marine Minister Dermot Ahern admitted he had a major battle on his hands at EU level.

Ireland has found itself isolated in many of its demands, including keeping the Spanish and Portuguese out of the Irish Box, which marine experts say the livelihoods of 20,000 Irish people are dependent upon.

As the loose coalition of fishing nations fell apart, the European Commission said it was imperative to cut cod and haddock fishing by 80% if the species were to survive.