Spanish ministry complains to Britain about fishing

MADRID The Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the British Embassy's number 2, Chargé d'Affairs Robert John Tinline (in the absence of Ambassador Giles Paxman) to express the Spanish Government's complaint that the maritime authorities of Gibraltar have decided not to allow Spanish fishing boats within 3 miles of the Rock on the Eastern side, and 1.5 miles within the Bay of Algeciras. The Ministry asked Tinline to 'find measures to re-establish' the agreements reached in 1999, which allowed commercial fishing up to a maximum of 225 metres from the coast. The Spanish say that this agreement was broken unilaterally when Gibraltar invoked the 1991 Nature Protection Law. The Ministry adopted this measure parallel to a meeting the Mayor of Algeciras and National Deputy José Ignacio Landaluce held with Gibraltar's Chief Minister Fabian Picardo, during which the subject of fishing was on the agenda.