fishermen to ensure Bermuda does not lose its valuable 200-mile exclusion zone.

Director of Fisheries Mr. John Barnes yesterday made that point in defending the decision to give licences to seven longline fishing boats from Canada.

The first two boats, Stephen B and Renee and Trevor , arrived last week and the other five are expected over the next two weeks.

Plans for longline fishing in Bermuda came under fire from local fishermen in the summer with the Anna C experiment.

Bermudian fishermen believe they should have exclusive rights to exploit local waters.

But Mr. Barnes warned that the 200-mile zone could be scrapped by international powers if it was not used.

He said he would prefer Bermudian longline fishermen to take advantage of the high seas around the Island. However, only two local men had shown the enterprise to experiment with longlining.

Mr. Barnes added: "I have heard there have been some complaints about the Canadian fishing boats coming here.

"But most fishermen are coming to the realisation that under international law, if we do not have a high seas fishery in our area we have to let other people use it. If we do not use it, we will lose it. We must protect the integrity of our waters.

"Obviously I would prefer to have Bermudians using the waters but they do not. This is why we allow licences to other people to use our waters.

"And the visiting fishermen do actually spend money on the Island for food, paint and timber.'' In fact, part of the contract deal with the Canadian boats is that they employ a couple of Bermudians each. The principal mover behind the scheme is Mr. Jim Redmond, captain of the Stephen B .

Mr. Redmond has checked 20 applications received and interviews were held yesterday.

Mr. Barnes said the Stephen B and the Renee and Trevor had proved to be a tourist attraction over the weekend. "The thought of a fishing line 55 miles long with 3,000 hooks is quite a draw. The boats have a lot of electronic equipment on board.

"Compared to fishing boats in Bermuda these are ships. You really get the impression that this is a serious operation.'' The Canadian boats are used to spending up to 10 days at sea, while Bermuda boats normally fish daily just offshore.

Most of the fish caught will be sold in New England, and some tuna will be shipped to the lucrative Japanese sushi markets.

The two bigger boats, the 125-foot Atlantic Horizon and the 99-foot Atlantic Optimist are expected late today or tomorrow morning.

They are being followed from Halifax, Nova Scotia, by East Pack II , Polar Fish and Seven Girls .

All the boats obtained licences to beat a moratorium on fishing off the east coast of Canada. The ban aims to increase fish stocks, particularly cod, which have plummeted because of environmental changes.