THE need for concerted action to tackle the economic problems facing the fishing fleet caused mainly by soaring fuel costs has been called for by a fishermen’s leader.

NEW scientific papers analysing the key to sustainable fisheries management have been published.

THE big Icelandic fishing firm HB Grandi is to treble the output of its individually quick frozen fish products as part of a new 50 million krona expansion programme.

THE trailer suction hopper dredger, Waterway is carrying out the first phase of a £12 million project to deepen and widen access to Lerwick harbour and reclaim land for new development opportunities.

ACTIVISTS onboard the Greenpeace vessel, Arctic Sunrise, have said they confronted Italian fishing “pirates” in the Mediterranean Sea and confiscated almost two kilometers of illegal driftnet containing dead undersized bluefin tunas and a small sea turtle, that was later released alive.

A National Scallop Group has been established to examine on a UK basis the problems facing the industry. The group, facilitated by Seafish, will be led by the Scallop Association and chaired by Seafish board member Professor Mike Kaiser. The rapporteur for the group will be Tom Pickerell of the Shellfish Association of Great Britain (SAGB).

HEAVY pressure on North Sea whiting stocks, partly because of the need to avoid cod has meant that one leading fish producer organisation has been forced to suspend whiting catching by all but two of its vessels.

THREE people were dramatically rescued yesterday by a fisherman from their sinking catamaran 12 miles out to sea off Plymouth.

ICELAND has agreed to help Indonesia develop its fishing industry and related marine sector.

GREENPEACE said today it has freed sharks, tuna, marlin and an endangered Olive Ridley turtle from the hooks of a Taiwanese longline vessel fishing in the international waters of the Pacific.

A EURO MP has criticised the UK government for refusing to support UK fishermen in the light of ever-rising fuel prices, despite the French and Spanish governments' moves to subsidise their fishing industries.

ICELAND'S trawler owners have hit out at Greenpeace over claims that the environmental group is pressurising small retailers in the United States into refusing to stock certain fish species in their stores.

FOLLOWING an announcement related to Scotland earlier today, Defra has today launched a consultation on how £34million of funding for England’s fishing industry should be spent.

VIEWS on how to spend almost £45 million on the Scottish fishing industry are being sought from today.

THE Ministry of Fisheries and Maritime New Zealand are working with the fishing industry to address concerns over the introduction of measures to protect seabirds from being accidentally killed during fishing operations.

NORWEGIAN whalers have made their first kill, says the Norwegian Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS), beginning the world's largest overtly commercial whale hunt, despite falling demand for whale meat.

ONE of the constraints for a new Community fisheries inspection and control policy could be the will of certain EU member states to still want to maintain the control over their fleet.

A TAURANGA, New Zealand fishing company was fined $36,000 yesterday after being convicted of three charges of misreporting catch involving 5.1 tonnes of snapper and gurnard.

IRELAND'S Fisheries Minister Mary Coughlan has launched a marketing strategy for Killybegs Fishery Harbour Centre.

THE fuel crisis facing fishermen took a fresh turn today, with a West Coast trade grouping calling on immediate action from the Scottish and Westminster Governments to avert what it claims is an imminent crisis.

THE Fishermen's Association (FAL) said today they had received no response to their offer to participate in a Lords committee hearing tomorrow at Peterhead chaired by former Scottish fisheries Minister Lord Sewel.

SHETLAND MSP Tavish Scott has hit at the unfair advantage gained by European fishermen who are receiving government help with fuel costs, unlike their Scottish counterparts.

THE headquarters of the Sea Fish Industry Authority in Edinburgh has been visited by police and fisheries enforcement officials as part of an ongoing investigation into alleged illegal fish landings at Scottish ports, it was confirmed today.

WEST Coast of Scotland fishermen have accused the Highland Council of using the build-up to the two-day strike at Grangemouth oil refinery as a cover for profiteering from fuel sales to fishermen.

THE House of Lords EU Sub-Committee on Environment and Agriculture,which is investigating the Common Fisheries Policy,will this Thursday, May 1, visit Peterhead and take evidence from Scottish officials and fishing industry representatives.

THE Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) has reported a more than 50 per cent rise in fatal sea angling incidents, prompting it to issue a warning to use proper safety equipment.

FISHERMEN in Northern Ireland have reacted with "disappointment and anger" to Minister Michelle Gildernew's announcement that she was opposed to the provision of emergency short term aid for local fishermen.

A SEA and shoreline search has resumed for a fisherman feared missing from a boat reported to be going round in circles off the coast of Gwynedd, Wales.

A NEW information brochure, presenting an up-to-date overview of Faroese fishing policy and its approach to fisheries management and aquaculture, has just been published.

SCOTTISH Fisheries Minister Richard Lochhead is to meet representatives from across the Scottish fishing industry at Scottish Fishermen's Federation headquarters in Aberdeen on Monday May 12 to hear details of the acute difficulties being faced by the Scottish fishing industry with the price of fuel.

A FISHERMEN’S spokesman today called for an official investigation into Royal Navy fishing vessel boarding practices in the wake of an Irish Sea incident when a Belgian fisherman reportedly lost a hand.

THE National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations (NFFO) said today it has launched a campaign against the Government’s "refusal" to recognise the impact of rising fuel prices on the economics of fishing and stressed that it needs fishermen to get involved.

A NEW Financial Administrative Penalty system comes into force in England and Wales on Monday for fishermen found breaking minor EU fishing rules.

A SHETLAND fisherman was ordered to pay £3,000 at Lerwick Sheriff Court today after he admitted breaching regulations designed to protect the islands' shellfish stocks.

THE West of Scotland Fish Producers' Organisation (WSFPO) has appointed Kevin McDonell as their new Chief Executive, to take over from Robert Stevenson at the end of this month.

SHETLAND'S third designated landing port for fish, Cullivoe in Yell, has joined the Fishing for Litter Scotland Project, which is co-ordinated by environmental group KIMO UK.

FIGURES up to the end of March show that whitefish tonnage and value at Peterhead for the first three months of the year are showing increases with other species showing solid performances.

CONFIRMATION that white fish business is continuing to fall at Aberdeen harbour comes in figures issued by the harbour board today.But commercial tonnage is on the up.

THE Scottish Fishermen’s Federation says it is delighted at the commissioning of the new fisheries research vessel, Alba na Mara, which was officially named in Fraserburgh today at a ceremony presided over by First Minister Alex Salmond and his wife Moira.Mrs Salmond named the vessel.

FISHERIES officials have agreed to look at seal predation on cod and other fish stocks. This has emerged in the wake of a meeting between a fishermen's grouping and officials when soaring fuel costs were also high on the agenda.

EUROPEAN funds have been used to finance the overexploitation of bluefin tuna in the Mediterranean, conservation group Oceana claimed today.

RISING fuel prices are threatening the future of Scotland's East Neuk of Fife fishing fleet according to one of its leaders.

CHANGES in fish migration patterns are likely to become a major fish policy issue, Norway's fisheries minister has predicted, given that increasing stocks and migration of species to new areas are among the consequences climate change is expected to have for fish in the sea.

ONE of Scotland’s best-known fishing industry figures has stepped down from the chair of The Scottish Pelagic Fishermen's Association, which represents herring and mackerel catchers from North-east Scotland and Shetland.

TODAY Greenpeace demonstrated against tuna fishing operations in the international waters of the Pacific by deploying a banner reading 'Marine Reserves Now' near the bow of a Korean purse seiner Olympus.

NORWEGIAN wild salmon stocks have been steadily decreasing, and now the authorities fear they may have to halt salmon fishing entirely this season.

PERVASIVE and "hugely profitable" illegal fishing for Atlantic cod and Alaska pollack in the Arctic threatens the health of these globally important fisheries and their resilience to climate change, says a new WWF report.

WORK will begin on site later this month on the largest single capital project yet at Lerwick Harbour, providing improved vessel access, deeper berths and new opportunities through land reclamation for future development.

THE Federation of Irish Fishermen has today attacked, as a " misuse of public funds," the radio advertising campaign being run on national and local radio by the newly established Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA).

THE Fishermen’s Mission has received a £5,000 donation from the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation (SFF).

AT yesterday's European Fisheries Council, Irish Fisheries Minister John Browne asked for strong actions against fishing vessels operating illegally on the high seas and in third countries completely outside EU and international law.

THE skirl of the pipes today marked the opening of the major Fishing 2008 show in Glasgow.

FISHERMEN are going to have to learn to deal with the impact of soaring fuel bills and act accordingly, even if this means more fleet consolidation, an industry leader warned today.

THE Federation of Irish Fishermen (FIF), the umbrella body for the four main Fishermen’s Organisations in Ireland, has said it is determined to play a central role in enhancing safety standards on board the Irish fishing fleet.