Seminar on state of Europe's Fish Stocks convenes

European Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Maria Damanaki, will open a one-day seminar on the state of fish stocks in European waters on 14 September, 2010, reports www.megafishnet.com with reference to EC.

Representatives of the principal scientific advisory bodies, the fishing and environmental sectors and the Commission will make presentations at the seminar to an eclectic audience including journalists, MEPs, members of the public and representatives from the Member States, NGOs and the fishing industry. The idea behind the seminar is to provide an overview of the state of fishery resources in Europe. The presentations will look both at the short-term aspects - identifying any unexpected events for 2012 - and at the longer-term aspects, with trends over the last decade identified and economic factors affecting the fleets reviewed. During what promises to be an informative event with lively and interesting debates, the catching sectors and NGOs will be invited to present their points of view. The day's deliberations will conclude with the Director-General for DG MARE explaining the Commission's strategy and drawing conclusions from recent experiences.