At that time, the main issue for Europe’s fisheries managers was how to maintain access for the Member States’ fleets to their traditional fishing grounds, at a time when nations around the world where extending their Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) to 200 nautical miles from the baseline.
San am sin ba í an cheist ba mhó a bhí ag dó na geirbe ag lucht bainistithe na hiascaireachta san Eoraip ná an tslí inarbh fhéidir rochtain a ráthú do loingis na mBallstát ar na háiteanna sin ina mbíodh siad ag iascaireacht go traidisiúnta, ag am ina raibh tíortha an domhain uile ag síneadh amach a gcuid criosanna eisiacha eacnamaíocha (CEE) go 200 muirmhíle amach óna gcuid cóstaí.