Fishermen remain cautious over new EU cod limits

The Irish Fishermen's Organisation has reacted with caution to the European Commission's plans to limit cod fishing in an effort to save the species from virtual extinction.

Commissioner Franz Fischler has announced plans to replace year-on-year quota negotiations with long-term limits in an effort to restore stocks in crucial fishing grounds, including the Irish Sea.

Mr Fischler said two years of efforts to contain the problem of dwindling cod stocks had failed, with fish still being taken from the sea faster than they can reproduce.

Frank Doyle, general secretary of the IFO, said the new restrictions would have an impact on Irish fishermen, but the alternative was the complete closure of the cod industry. "At this stage, it's very difficult to measure what impact it will have," he said.