BEIRUT, Mar 3, 2010 (IPS) - Pollution, oil spills and difficult living conditions are some of the challenges that fishermen in this eastern Mediterranean country face daily.

The BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico drew some interesting responses from the European Commissioner of Energy, Günther Oettinger and the Commissioner of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Maria Damanaki. In a speech to the European Parliament on 7 July, Oettinger referred to ‘the maritime aspects of the challenges we’re facing, notaby how we can turn the terrible accident in the Gulf of Mexico into an opportunity for literally “untapped waters” so far, such as the potential for renewable ocean energy’. Renewable ocean energy – as an alternative to deepwater oil? Was the Commissioner serious?