The Scottish Government is set to implement its first seasonal closure of a fishing ground, a move intended to protect fish stocks at a sensitive time of the year.

This step forms an extension of the 21-day real-time closures that can be implemented when strong levels of fish stocks are surveyed, allowing fish numbers to further recover in a bid to boost the sustainability of Scotland's fisheries.

From December until March the fishing industry has agreed not to fish an area 100 miles to the north-east of Fraserburgh, in a bid to protect shoals that are spawning.

"The Scottish Government, the Scottish fishing industry and the Scottish people want to ensure that our coastal communities continue to be vibrant, optimistic and economically viable places where a new generation of fishermen can grow up," Fisheries Secretary Richard Lochhead said.

"Together, we're driving forward the debate for better approaches to fisheries management: building on the success of the Scottish Conservation Credits Scheme; tackling the scourge of discards; and leading the debate on alternatives to a discredited Common Fisheries Policy that has not served Scotland's interests.

"We do so confident that here in Scotland we have the people - in industry and in our fishing communities - who can rise to these challenges and, together, can deliver success," he added.

The fishing ground will be reopened around the end of March, depending on when surveys show a drop in the levels of cod – indicating the shoals have spawned and moved on.