Flotilla protests against fishing ban

The fishermen are at odds with EU cod measures

A flotilla of 40 fishing boats has left Peterhead in protest at the introduction of conservation moves which it is claimed are damaging the industry.

The trawlers set sail for Aberdeen on Wednesday morning - there they were expected to link up with other vessels for a demonstration in the harbour.

The fishermen, mainly from the north-east of Scotland, were calling on the Scottish Executive for financial assistance to enable them to voluntarily tie up their boats to safeguard stocks.

They said the problem has arisen from the EU's recovery plan which bans fishing for cod in certain areas of the North Sea until the end of April.

John Buchan: Wants to see compensation paid

Fishermen said that as a result of the cod ban they were being forced to catch undersized immature haddock.

That, they said, was potentially damaging to the future of the industry.

At the end of last week some 200 skippers tied up their boats in protest.

They said the government must now come up with cash to allow boats to be laid up rather than being forced into areas rich with immature fish.

On Monday, in Peterhead, about 300 people connected with the fishing industry agreed to stage this protest and then to travel to Edinburgh on Thursday to lobby the Scottish Parliament.

John Buchan, the chairman of the Fishermen's Action Committee, said the scale of Wednesday's rally had been hit by the bad weather.

He said the aim of the action was to maintain public awareness of the situation, and added: "We will go down and make a bit of a nuisance of ourselves and then go back home."

More than 40,000 square miles of water has been closed under emergency EU powers to help revive cod stocks.

Fishermen were only able to catch 60% of their quota in 1999.