The Commission today issued proposals for additional measures to control the amount of fishing directed at these species, to collect scientific data and to establish enforcement rules to protect these species that are particularly vulnerable to fishing. Though deep-water fisheries are fairly recent, fishing effort has been steadily increasing. This is why, last December, the Commission proposed as a first step, to limit catches through the setting of total allowable catches (TACs). The present proposal ( ~ 30 KB) aims to ensure that these TACs are not overshot and to compile scientific data on the species. "Protection cannot come soon enough for these vulnerable species. We are determined to avoid repeating past mistakes when measures came too late. We must apply the precautionary approach to these little- known ecosystems and limit both our catches and our fishing effort so that these fisheries are sustainable", Commissioner Franz Fischler, in charge of Agriculture, Rural Development and Fisheries, said.