Speaking today in Peniche the Minister for the Sea said the request was underpinned by scientific data.

“The decision does not depend son the government but on Brussels”, Ana Paula Vitorino told journalists, adding “but we have a good indication that there will be some revision of the scientific organism because scientific campaigns that we have carried out in our seas concluded that sardine stocks have grown on last year.”

Minister Vitorino believes “it is not justified for this year-s quota to be smaller than last year-s.”

International meetings are to be held on 10 and 20 June with a view to discussing Portugal's position.