Spain and France agree on fishing quota swap

Spain and France have reached an agreement on swapping fishing quotas which will allow for Spain to fish more hake and monkfish, authorities said Saturday. "We have received quotas of 1,500 tonnes of hake and 1,100 tonnes of monkfish, the two main (fishing) species our boats catch," the agriculture ministry in Madrid said in a statement, but without giving details on the quotas that will be given to France in exchange. Under the deal, Spain also said it is getting mini-quotas on haddock and pollack. In December, the European Union's fisheries ministries struck a deal on 2013 quotas which was viewed as a "compromise" between efforts to protect endangered stocks while ensuring jobs for Europe's fishermen.