Quota talks

THE year’s talks to decide next year’s fishing quotas begin on Tuesday in Brussels with three days of negotiations between the EU and Norway.

The Scottish government hopes to be allowed to extend its catch quota system for cod, which allows fishermen to land all the cod they catch, but to catch less, thus avoiding discards.

Scottish fishing secretary Richard Lochhead said: “For 2011 we were able to expand the scheme to 23 vessels, around a quarter of the whitefish fleet. However, many more skippers wanted to join, which is why I am seeking agreement to allow all Scottish vessels who wish to take part to do so.

“As the European Commission has acknowledged, catch quotas can form an important part of the solution as we build towards a discard-free fishery. We now need the Commission and Norway to back our efforts and agree to an expanded scheme next year.”