Akhir 12, 1432 / March 17, 2011, SPA -- A European Commission decision to ban bluefin tuna fishing was struck down by European Union judges on Thursday because it applied at different times to Maltese, Greek, French, Italian, Cypriot and Spanish vessels, dpa reported. As the EU's executive, the commission polices the bloc's fishery policy and can ground vessels when annual catch quotas are reached or when it deems that stocks are threatened by overfishing. During the 2008 fishing season, it thus ordered Maltese, Greek, French, Italian and Cypriot vessels to stop catching tuna in the Mediterranean and Eastern Atlantic, starting from June 16. The same provision was applied a week later, on June 23, to Spanish vessels. The EU Court of Justice (ECJ) found that the decision violated "the principle of non-discrimination," because "it has not been shown or even claimed that Spanish (fishermen) were different from other (fishermen) in their capacity to catch bluefin tuna." -- SPA
