By Raymond Hainey Bermuda's fishing industry faces tougher controls on catches in the future, Environment Minister Arthur Hodgson warned yesterday.

Mr. Hodgson told MPs an international conference had cut three tonnes of Bermuda's allowed catch of swordfish to 24 tonnes over the next three years in a bid to preserve the species and capped the landing of albacore.

And he added that further talks over the management of marlin and yellowfin tuna stocks were expected next year.

Mr. Hodgson said: "This is a portent of things to come as greater and greater international emphasis is put on the importance of managing the Atlantic's living marine resources.'' Mr. Hodgson added that swordfish had become an increasingly important catch for Island boats.

He said: "It will be noted that an increasing amount of swordfish is being caught by Bermudian fishermen and that this product has found favour in local markets.

"It has also been a policy to try and diversify the Bermuda fishery to take advantage of the pelagic species, including swordfish, that occur in the Bermuda Exclusive Economic Zone.'' But he added: "Tempering this is the fact that swordfish stocks, including those in the North Atlantic, have been under severe pressure and are currently at a fraction of the size needed to provide maximum sustainable yield.

"In the past this has led to reductions in quotas and there is now some indication that the cuts have borne fruit and that the stocks show some sign of improvement.'' And he said negotiations over Bermuda's share of the swordfish catch had taken place considering the need to protect fish stocks and -- at the same time -- trying to ensure sustainable catches of "this highly valuable commodity''.

But he added that the cap on albacore catches would not affect Bermuda much as "there was still sufficient latitude for further development of our fishery''.

Mr. Hodgson was speaking after a trip to the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna, set up to protect tuna and related fish. He said the cut in tuna catches was shared among the 27 countries attending the conference. Mr. Hodgson stressed the importance of bodies like ICCAT in protecting the seas from over-fishing.

He said: "It will be recognised that tuna and similar species know no boundaries and are a shared responsibility. It is also apparent that many of these species are under severe fishing pressure and are in need of strict management controls in order to ensure stability.'' And he said he had used the conference forum to have informal discussions with the US delegation over the possibility of conducting joint research into bluefin tuna.

Fish talks: Environment Minister Arthur Hodgson