conference at the Princess Hotel yesterday morning.

And Environment Minister Irving Pearman got the ball rolling for the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas Swordfish Working Group meeting with an introductory message.

He told the experts from Spain, Brazil, Japan, Canada, the US and Bermuda, that he was honoured that the Island was chosen as the venue for the conference because it was concerned about the natural environment.

"We, like you, have had to look at what we have done in our small environment, particularly where it relates to our marine environment.'' Mr. Pearman said the Island had essentially overfished its stocks, forcing what many locals believed were "draconian'' measures to be imposed over the past decade to halt the decline.

"Over the past decade, we have done things which some people consider draconian but were absolutely necessary to manage and protect fish stocks for future generations.'' He added these measures also served to protect Bermuda's fragile reef system which was an essential component to Bermuda tourism economy.

But these measures "were not popular with all people'', he stressed, noting that he was presently involved with another controversial matter involving the modification of lobster traps by licensed fishermen.

However the measures were all necessary to protect the environment for future generations, said Mr. Pearman.

And he added: "I hope the results of this conference produce positive benefits for years to come.'' The chairperson for the working group, Canadian Julie Porter, thanked the Minister and urged local scientists interested in seeing the working group in action to "not be intimidated'' and to come to The Princess and sit in on the conference.

The aim of the working group is to project the long-term future of the swordfish stock and to establish catch quotas to prevent over-fishing.

While this conference is looking at swordfish, other working groups are examining other species of fish including the blue marlin.

The delegates are looking for ways of accurately measuring the size of swordfish stocks in the Atlantic Ocean. They will use the Bermuda meetings to develop a scientific method of categorising the fish by age and sex.

The conference began a day after a number of US restaurants dropped North Atlantic swordfish from their menus to protest overfishing.

The "Give Swordfish a Break'' campaign was launched on Tuesday by 27 chefs across the US who vowed to keep the fish off their menus for at least a year, reported the Associated Press.

Environmental groups SeaWeb and the Natural Resources Defense Council announced that swordfish stocks were being depleted because new fishing techniques catch them when they are too young to reproduce.

Other restaurants have refused to sign on as they believe the campaign would punish US fishermen abiding by government quotas.

The threat to the Atlantic swordfish population led to government restrictions in 1991 on the size and quantity that can be fished.

ENVIRONMENT ENV