Fishermen in plea to parliament

The fishermen sought support from politicians

More than 300 fishermen have held a mass meeting next to the Scottish Parliament to call for compensation after quota cuts.

The fishermen said they deserve compensation for voluntarily tying up their boats to conserve stocks of young haddock.

They poured boxes of haddock onto the street as part of their protest.

But Fisheries Minister Rhona Brankin has ruled out any immediate compensation package and said that fishermen can take other action to avoid further depletion of stocks of haddock.

Rhona Brankin: No pledge on compensation

Instead, First Minister Henry McLeish said he would meet fishermen next week and give them a formal response to their plea for compensation.

Ms Brankin said: "The fishermen are agreed with the Scottish Executive that we needed to take urgent measures to protect cod stocks.

"We are aware that there are a lot of immature haddock in the fisheries just now but I do believe there are measures that fishermen can take to avoid catching some of these young fish."

On Wednesday, a flotilla of 40 fishing boats left Peterhead in protest at the introduction of conservation moves by the EU which it is claimed are damaging the industry.

On Thursday, fishermen attended a packed mass meeting at the Hub venue in Edinburgh at which politicians and fishermen's representatives spoke.

Former Scottish National Party leader Alex Salmond, the MSP for Banff and Buchan, was cheered for a speech in support of the fishermen's campaign.

But the Labour MSP for Aberdeen Central, Lewis MacDonald, was loudly booed.

'Five Ravenscraigs'

Mr Salmond said: "If the boats are forced back to sea into the nursery grounds over the next few weeks, then that stock will be killed off and there will be no future for the fishing industry.

"This is an industry which 25,000 people depend on for their livelihoods - the equivalent of five Ravenscraigs.

"This is an opportunity for Henry McLeish to do something and demonstrate his calibre as the first minister of Scotland."

Peter Bruce: Demand for executive action

Mr MacDonald was heckled by fishermen throughout his five-minute speech.

Despite efforts to assure the fishing delegation that Ms Brankin understood the severity of the situation, the group rejected his assurances.

Mr MacDonald said: "We have a crisis now and that crisis needs to be addressed. Once that has been done, the communities and the Scottish Parliament must move forward to make sure we don't have this kind of crisis ever again."

Peter Bruce of the Fishermen's Action Committee vowed to keep up the pressure on the Scottish Executive.

He said: "We don't want to be here today. We are fishermen who have tied up our boats and are here today fighting for our communities."