The Council of Fisheries Ministers is meeting in Luxembourg this afternoon.
The future of the protected zone of sea, known as the Irish Box, is the only issue on the fisheries agenda.
The Chief Executive of the Irish Fish Producers' Organisation, Lorcán Ó Cinnéide, said the talks are expected to be very difficult.
The Irish box, which stretches 50 miles around the Irish coast, was created to protect fish stocks in 1985 when Spain and Portugal joined the EU.
