In what has become a pre-Christmas tradition in Brussels, the ministers are to hold marathon talks for at least two days with the aim of reeling in an agreement by dawn on Thursday.

Ahead of the discussions, the European Commission stressed that a "long-term approach" was needed to manage declining fish stocks.

"The situation of fish stocks in EU waters continues to give serious cause for concern, despite some good news for certain species," it said in a statement.

"The past year has seen the emergency closure of anchovy and sandeel fisheries, and the inability of scientists to provide accurate estimates of North Sea cod stocks is in itself a sign of how perilously low their numbers now are," it added.

The EU's current British presidency is hoping to strike a deal with a compromise proposal for a marginal increase in allowed catches but which would not change the amount of time fishing-boats would be allowed to stay at see.

The annual review of fishing quotas is not without drama. French fishermen blockaded ports earlier this month over the prospect of more restrictions on how much fish they could net while environment campaigners are up in arms that the EU does not do more to enforce fishing limits.

"EU member states do little or nothing to prevent deep sea fishing by vessels without fishing allocations - known as illegal or 'pirate' fishing," Greenpeace said in a statement.

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