EU-Norway fish talks collapse

(BRUSSELS) - European Union and Norwegian fishing fleets have been booted out of each other's waters, which they normally share, after talks on quotas collapsed, Brussels said on Wednesday.

The European Commission "deeply regrets that, despite all the efforts made to reach agreement with Norway, the respective approaches of the two parties at this stage have proved to be irreconcilable," said a statement.

The waters of the North Sea, a harvest for plaice, whiting, cod, herring and mackerel -- the main bone of contention -- are mainly fished on the EU side by Scottish boats, some of which could be forced out of business amid lingering, deep recession there.

According to the commission, weeks of talks trying to agree on shared quotas for 2010 floundered in Bergen, Norway in a dispute over access to mackerel, an inexpensive fish considered a delicacy when smoked in various North Sea countries.

The commission said Brussels had "offered increased access for Norway to fish mackerel in EU waters, without asking for compensation by Norway."

Now, though, Norwegian boats will be "excluded" from EU waters, just as EU boats will no longer be able to stray into Norwegian waters until a compromise is found.

"EU fishing companies and vessels, which have no link to the mackerel issue, will be impacted upon negatively," it underlined.

Norwegian fisheries minister Lisbeth Berg-Hansen said she was "profoundly disappointed" at the outcome, stressing that Oslo wanted to see a long-term deal with fixed quotas and mutual access across EU and Norwegian zones.

She said the parties were unable to agree on "any of the central questions," also highlighting a dispute over smaller fish thrown back into the sea by European trawlers, a practice outlawed by the Norwegian authorities.

"I am particularly keen to underline the importance we attach to new measures to reduce the number of fish rejected, which represents a great waste of resources," she added.

"This was a missed opportunity to conclude a balanced deal," said Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Joe Borg.

However, spokeswoman Nathalie Charbonneau said the commission was "hopeful" that talks that would see Brussels propose "provisional quotas" would resume "early in January."

The commission called for a "solidarity of purpose" among the EU's 27 member states to get negotiations back on track.