Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment Richard Lochhead today met European Fisheries Commissioner Joe Borg in Brussels, where Lochhead outlined the Scottish government’s views on the future of fisheries policy.

Lochhead said: “I was able to update the Commissioner on the progress being made in Scotland following the introduction of our ground breaking Conservation Credits scheme, where fishermen are rewarded with days at sea in return for signing up to conservation measures.

"I explained to Commissioner Borg that our firm view in Scotland is that responsibility for fisheries management should be passed to nations rather than via the top down approach of the centralised Common Fisheries Policy. The trail blazing measures we are implementing in Scotland begin to take us in that direction.

"We intend to build on our existing measures in partnership with the industry in Scotland and the Commissioner is supportive of what we are doing. For as long as Scotland is part of the CFP we will work to bring as much responsibility for fisheries management back to Scotland as possible. We will continue to be constructive and to put our case to Europe.”

Lochhead said that they also discussed what he called the “huge cost of fuel that is hitting the Scottish fleet hard”.

He added: “I raised concerns that other countries were getting away with subsidising their fleets and the Commissioner gave an assurance that he would enforce a level playing field in Europe and not allow any measures that are illegal under state aid rules. He explained that he was actively taking steps to investigate concerns over the actions of other countries. The Commission have also agreed to meet Scottish officials to provide us with information on any legitimate measures other countries are adopting to address the rising cost of fuel.

“I look forward to my own meeting with the industry in the near future to learn more about the impact of rising fuel costs on the Scottish fleet. However, clearly this is a difficult issue and the Scottish Government just like every other government in Europe is unable to directly influence international oil prices that are making life difficult for a range of marine and other sectors.”