Something Stinks

CARMELO ALEN/AP

The new plan calls for drastic cuts in Europe's fishing fleets

When Europe's politicians talk about the environment, they're usually referring to the need for drastically reduced greenhouse gas emissions or more testing of genetically modified organisms. But last week the European Commission made proposals to tackle an equally serious yet far more contentious issue: the decades of overfishing that have decimated fish stocks in European waters. The Commission's plan, put forward by fisheries Commissioner Franz Fischler, calls for dramatic cuts in commercial fishing fleets and the diversion of some $430 million that's currently used to subsidize the modernization of the E.U. fishing fleet into retraining programs to help fishermen find other...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!