VENICE, Nov 25 (Hina) - Slovene and Italian officials attending a conference on fisheries in the Mediterranean, which is being held in Venice, have reiterated their objection to Croatia having "unilaterally" expanded jurisdiction in
the Adriatic Sea.
VENICE, Nov 25 (Hina) - Slovene and Italian officials attending a
conference on fisheries in the Mediterranean, which is being held
in Venice, have reiterated their objection to Croatia having
"unilaterally" expanded jurisdiction in the Adriatic Sea. #L#
Slovene Agriculture Minister Franci But said in a statement to
reporters on Tuesday he would propose at the conference tomorrow
that a special conference on the Adriatic be held after the Venice
conference.
The under-secretary at the Italian agriculture and fisheries
ministry, Paolo Scarpa Bonnano, told reporters that by proclaiming
a protected zone, Croatia "has done something that is not in the
spirit of European multilateral decision-making".
On October 3 this year Croatia declared a protected ecological and
fishing zone in the Adriatic, postponing its implementation for a
year, in line with the UN convention on the law of the sea and the
European Commission's action plan for the Mediterranean as well as
existing precedents.
Neither the UN convention, nor the EC action plan or preparatory
documents for the Venice meeting make any mention of the
possibility which is advocated by the Slovene minister, i.e. the
establishment of joint fishing and ecological zones.
(hina) rml sb