Spain may face court action in fisheries row

THE Government is prepared to take Spain to the European Court if its fishermen try to catch stocks off the Irish coast, Marine Minister Dermot Ahern warned yesterday.

Following an acrimonious deal brokered in Brussels last week, there is confusion over whether a 12 square mile area off the coast, known as the Irish Box, will be out of bounds for foreign trawlers.

Mr Ahern said he received legal opinion to suggest foreign trawlers will not be allowed into this area, but Spanish fishermen have disagreed.