Conservation of fishery resources: cod and hake, stock recovery

The Council noted the presentation by Commissioner Fischler of his package of proposals to reform the CFP and the contributions by delegations and instructed the Council's bodies to continue their intensive examination of the proposals and communications presented by the Commission. At this stage, several delegations welcomed the objectives of the reform contained in the proposal, without prejudice to the more specific reservations thay had on certain aspects of the planned provisions. With each delegation speaking in turn, the Council commented particularly on the following aspects of the reform : - the setting of TACs and quotas : some delegations indicated that they had reservations about a possible transfer of competences from the Council to the Commission for the annual management of TACs and quotas; - the reduction of fishing effort and the abolition of official aid ; - the social impact of the planned restructuring measures : some delegations stressed the need for more long-term social action to accompany the fleet-scrapping measures for the oldest boats; - the consideration of the particular position of fishing in the outermost regions.�