Disputes over fishing rights stir national feelings despite the modest socio-economic importance of fishing in most member states. The Common Fisheries Policy of the European Community (1984) takes an impartial view in examining the development of the European Community’s Common Fisheries Policy from its obscure origins in the 1960s to its reform in the 1980s. In doing so, it draws together the major characteristics of Europe’s diverse national fishing industries, and not only sheds light on the complex and often poorly understood workings of the EC itself but also describes the almost insuperable political problems of allocating and conserving an important international resource.