The turbot issue came before NAFO's annual meeting in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, on 19–23 September 1994. After questioning the scientists' advice, the EU proposed a TAC of 40,000 t; Canada argued for 15,000 t. The meeting ultimately settled on 27,000 t. Since agreement was not reached until the final day, a special meeting was scheduled for Brussels on 30 January – 1 February 1995, to establish a distribution key for allocating quotas among the contracting parties. The EU approved the overall catch limit at the December meeting of the Fisheries Council over the objections of Spain and Portugal, who argued that the EU should set an autonomous quota of 30,000 t on the basis that scientific evidence allowed for a 40,000 t TAC, even though NAFO's Scientific Council had pointedly refrained from recommending a figure.