Fisheries Secretary Richard Lochhead was battling hard to secure a satisfactory deal for blue whiting and prawn fisheries as the quota talks drew to a close last night.
Last minute problems achieving a good outcome for the shared blue-whiting fishery in the North Sea could “sour” the overall fishing package for the Scots fleet in 2016, a Scottish Government spokeswoman said.
Mr Lochhead was also trying to stave off late moves to split North Sea prawn fisheries, which he said would result in a net loss to Scottish fishers.
The new proposal for prawns came “out of the blue”, he said, adding it would take away some of the flexibility allowed under the current catch rules.
“While we accept the need for conservation measures for certain parts of the prawn fishery, we can’t have a reshaping of the whole management of it,” he said.
But Mr Lochhead said he remained confident of securing a deal to help an industry with science on its side, falling fuel prices and increasing quotas.
The “stars were aligned” for a brighter future for the sector after years of “stormy skies”, despite a background of widespread anxiety over the discard ban, he said.
Large increases in quota for North Sea haddock and cod were agreed during previous talks between the European Union and Norway.