European Union fisheries ministers today voted to reject a European Commission proposal to scrap payments to fishermen who keep their boats idle in harbour. But after tense talks that lasted all night, new limits were added to how such payments can be allocated.

The European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) is being adjusted for 2013-20 as part of the Commission’s proposed reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). The Commission proposed eliminating EMFF subsidies to fishermen who keep their boats docked when fish populations are low, and funds for fishermen who modernise their engines to make them more efficient.

The ministers agreed a position that would allow subsidies for vessel modernisation, new engines and to cover losses incurred by fishermen as a result of temporary fisheries closures, such as when a stock has been overfished to a critical level. The deal would also allow payments to fishermen who decommission their vessels.

France, Spain and Portugal led the efforts to maintain the payments to fishermen. Northern European countries who have opposed the payments in the past, including the UK, insisted that, at the very least, new limits should be introduced. Under the agreement, the funds would only be given to fishermen who follow the rules and regulations of the CFP. Stricter conditions have been set on funding for engine replacement.

Sustainable fishing campaigners criticised the ministers’ decision, saying that it would subsidise an EU fishing fleet that is already able to catch two to three times the amount of fish that is sustainable.

“There is already not enough fish for all the boats out there, so it makes no sense at all for governments to continue throwing subsidies at the EU’s oversized fleet,” said Greenpeace’s EU fisheries policy director, Saskia Richartz. “Wasting taxpayers’ money on what causes the problem in the first place is ridiculous: it is like paying someone to rob you.”

“The worst thing is that the industrial fleet, which causes the most damage to our seas, is likely to swallow up most of the cash, with sustainable fishermen losing out,” she said.

Click Here: cheap all stars rugby jersey

According to data from the European Comission, between 1994 and 2006, Spain (83%), France (8%), Portugal (4%), Germany (3%) and the UK (0.1%) spent more than €266 million building and modernising distant-water fishing fleets. Almost 70% of that money was used to build new boats, many of which were also upgraded.