The European Union agreed Monday to send decommissioned tuna fishing boats to Asian countries hit by the devastating tsunami to help in the reconstruction of local communities.
EU fisheries ministers cleared a scheme to compensate European fishermen for dispatching the vessels to countries including Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand. The boats are to be taken out of commission in any case as they are due to be scrapped under EU quota restrictions designed to help European fish stocks recover after years of over-fishing. But there was no legal mechanism to compensate the fishermen if the boats were sent to third countries rather than destroyed. “Public opinion would not understand us destroying trawlers†while countries in Asia were badly in need of them, Luxembourg Agriculture Minister Fernand Boden of the EU's current presidency told a news conference.
The EU will only send vessels that are suitable for sailing and fishing conditions in the Indian Ocean, officials said. The details of how many boats will be sent and the levels of compensation will be worked out by the EU's executive commission in collaboration with member states. The trawlers scheme is the latest trade initiative by EU governments to support nations hit by the December 26 earthquake and tidal wave, which has claimed more than 227,000 lives so far.
On Friday, EU trade officials agreed to accelerate a new “Generalised System of Preferences†for the countries concerned. The EU system grants products imported from GSP beneficiary countries either duty-free access or a tariff reduction.
Of the countries hit by the tsunami, Sri Lanka would benefit the most from the reformed GSP by seeing EU customs duties on its tuna reduced to zero.