Croatia to close chapter 13 on fisheries

 Croatia has fulfilled all measures needed to close the European Union negotiations chapter 13 on fisheries, but some of the concessions may be unacceptable to the country's fishermen, the daily Jutarnji List writes.
The European Union expects an exception from the protected fishery zone (ZERP) for the members states until a joint solution "in the spirit of EU" is found. ZERP was established in 2008 in response to protests by the two most affected states, Slovenia and Italy.
Croatian fishermen may also not be happy with Croatia's responsibility to open its territory to other member states for fishing, the daily writes. Many of the Mediterranean countries however have taken advantage of the ban available to Croatia and valid until the end of 2012. According to professor Alen Soldo from Split University, there is a large interest in extending this ban and he believes Zagreb should insist on that.
Daniel Kolec, the President of the Umag association of fishermen Mare Croaticum, says his colleagues will not be happy with not applying ZERP to EU member states.
He is also afraid that Slovenia may be allowed to fish all along the western coast of Istria. Although this would mean Croatian fishermen could also fish in Slovenian waters, Kolec believes this is not a fair deal as there are not as many fish there.
"If this information proves true, we are likely to have another protest. We have had enough with blackmail," says Kolec.