Scottish fishermen say they are finding unusual quantities of octopus and other warm-water creatures in their nets and lobster pots.

MARINE engineers have won a battle to prevent a major spillage of raw sewage into one of the East Coast's leading fishing harbours.

The men worked through the night at Whitby on the Yorkshire Coast to install a pump after the pumping station failed. Untreated effluent did get into the harbour earlier, but much of it was diverted into the sea through an emergency outflow while the operation was carried out.

A review of the management of one of Scotland's national assets - its fish quota - will be the focus of a consultation meeting in Pittenweem on August 7, 2008 at 14:30. The meeting is open to members of the public.

CONCERN is growing over the 'crippling' level of fines recently imposed on three fishermen from the Thames Estuary for illegal fishing.

WHITE fish prices are likely to remain on the high side, according to the latest bulletin from leading food service distributor M&J Seafoods.

TWO veteran trawlers - one of them regularly operating from out of Scotland - have made their final fishing voyages.

Their owners, the Icelandic catching and fish processing company Samherji, has decided to withdraw them from service after a long and highly successful career.

A NORWEGIAN coastguard vessel claims to have spotted two British trawlers dumping large quantities of fish in the North Sea.

The boat, the KV Leikvin, said it managed to film the incident, but was not able to intervene. The trawlers have not been publicly named as yet.

THE Russian Navy has dramatically appeared in force in the Barents Sea, interrupting fishing operations by trawlers from Iceland, Norway and other northern European countries.

UAE imports of seafood products are projected to reach USD 382 million in 2008, according to a recent study conducted by the Centre for Marketing Information and Advisory Services for Fishery Products in the Arab Region (UAE).

Fisheries Secretary Richard Lochhead today promised a three-year plan to achieve a sustainable and profitable fishing industry that has adapted to high fuel costs and is fit for the 21st century.

ICELAND'S fishing vessel owners, already badly hit by lower cod and haddock quotas, have expressed concern at the huge scale of fuel aid subsidy to Europe's fishing fleet.

The European Union lifted sanctions against Norway's salmon exports, claiming the punitive duties imposed were never used anyway.

Two fishermen have been rescued from a life raft, 20 miles off

Penzance after their fishing vessel sank.

SHETLAND is spearheading a campaign to persuade the European Commission to relax its rules on state aid to allow the islands' authority to support its fisheries industry.

YOUNG'S, Britain's largest frozen and chilled seafood producer, has changed hands in a deal between two private equity companies worth £1.1-billion.

The Chairman of the Federation of Irish Fishermen, Gerard O'Flynn, today accepted an invitation to meet French President Sarkozy at the French Embassy to outline the key concerns of the Irish fishing industry on European issues.

While welcoming much of the content of the comprehensive House of Lords committee report on the Common Fisheries Policy, the Scottish Fishermen's Federation has reacted angrily to the report's contention that no aid should be given to help fishermen survive the fuel crisis.

THOUSANDS of fish lovers descended on Scarborough at the weekend for the port's annual maritime Seafest.

Scottish independent salmon farmers have warned that the abolition of the EC's minimum import price for salmon will allow Norway to monopolise the industry in Scotland completely, causing hundreds of jobs losses.

The Chairman of the Federation of Irish Fishermen, Gerard O'Flynn, will be among those invited to meet President Sarkozy today (Monday) at the French Embassy to discuss the aftermath of the Lisbon Treaty vote.

Yesterday (Sunday) saw the lifting of the minimum import price (MIP) for Norwegian salmon exported to the European Union.

The pricing levy has been in place for almost 20 years and its lifting has been greeted with celebration among the salmon industry in Norway,

Hayle Fishermen's Association has recently received grant aid of over £40,000 to upgrade the facilities for fishermen at the harbour. The project was jointly funded by the EU Objective One Fisheries Programme, Rural Renaissance and Penwith District Council. The project was also supported by ING and Hayle Harbour Management Ltd who own the harbour.

The American Ambassador, Mr Thomas C. Foley visited the Marine Institute's headquarters and laboratory facilities at Oranmore, Co. Galway, last Thursday, for a joint workshop between Irish and US companies and organizations in the Ocean Energy sector.

FISHERMAN Victor Robertson has become the first person in Shetland to get his under 16.5 metre skipper's ticket by training at Scalloway's NAFC Marine Centre.

BRIDLINGTON, Britain's largest shell fishing centre, looks set to get a new fishing harbour under a multi-million plan to rebuild the port.The Yorkshire port is now the centre of a large crab and lobster fleet.

Imports of seafood into the UK are strictly regulated and monitored to ensure that fishery products reaching European borders are of the standard expected by European consumers. As part of this process, measures can be imposed by the European Commission, ranging in severity from increased checks to an outright ban, which UK seafood businesses need to be aware of, warns Seafish.

A review of the management of one of Scotland's national assets - its fish quota - will be the focus of a consultation meeting in Mallaig on Wednesday 23 July at 19:00. The meeting is open to members of the public.

EUROPEAN fishing ministers last night agreed a massive aid package totalling more than two billion euros (around £1.5-billion sterling) to help fishermen cope with the fuel crisis.

Seafish has awarded £75,000 from their International Trade Support Fund (ITSF) to ten UK bodies to support the importing and exporting of seafood.

With the European Council of Ministers expected to approve today (July 15) measures to help EU fishing fleets survive soaring fuel costs, the Scottish Fishermen's Federation is warning that such support will only be effective if the UK Governments are prepared to offer financial help.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) is reminding all boat users to look very carefully at their plans and precautions

in advance of a strike called by the Public and Commercial Services

Union which will affect Coastguard Stations around the UK this

weekend (18th - 20th July).

The lives of three fishermen from a Devon based fishing boat have been saved thanks to the McMurdo MOB Guardian man overboard and vessel locater alert system.

The Federation of Irish Fishermen (FIF) is calling on Ministers Brendan Smith and Tony Killeen to immediately implement the emergency aid package for Irish Fishermen, once it is agreed at the meeting of EU Fisheries Ministers in Brussels on Tuesday, July 15. The Commission is proposing additional funding of up to €600 million.

A package of support for fishermen facing crippling fuel costs will go before the EU Fisheries Council today (Tuesday).

A MAJOR European Union decision is expected this week on helping Britain and other EU countries overcome the fuel crisis affecting their fishing fleets.

ONE of the East Coast's leading fishing ports is preparing to launch a three day event that celebrates the traditions of the sea and the seafood it provides.

Lib Dem for Scotland member of the European Parliament Elspeth Attwooll has urged the UK Goverment to work with other European nations to reduce the effects of rising fuel prices.

THE price of fish in the UK is starting to show an upward movement this week, according to the latest market reports.

Fisheries Minister Richard Lochhead met industry representatives last Friday and pledged to work with the sector to produce a three year plan to achieve a sustainable and profitable industry that has adapted to high fuel costs.

Area IVbc mackerel fishery in the North Sea will be opened to all UK vessels fishing against the under 10 metre vessel pool allocation on July 5, the Marine and Fisheries Agency and other Fisheries Administrations announced (July 4).

The European Fish Advisory Committee (ICES) have released their management advice for 2009 for a number of fish species in the North Atlantic. The catch quotas for cod and haddock in the Barents Sea are recommended to be higher next year (2009) as the spawning stocks of both species are well above the precautionary limit. It is anticipated that the quota size will rise a minimum 10 per cent for cod and 20 percent for haddock.

The Deep Sea Conservation Coalition (DSCC) welcomes the agreement adopted by the North-East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC) today to protect deep-sea corals and other sensitive ecosystems from high seas bottom fisheries in the Northeast Atlantic.

A Victorian painting of the Stonehaven fishing fleet heading home to harbour is expected to sell for more than £3000 in Edinburgh next week.

M&J Seafood, one of Britain's top suppliers of fish to the foodservice trade, has struck up a unique deal with two Cornish skippers - and saved a vital tuna fishery.

It also means the company has secured its own supply of albacore or 'white meat' tuna for much of the year.

Speaking after the issue of the annual fisheries raw science advice, Scottish Fishermen's Federation Chief Executive, Bertie Armstrong said: "I am very disappointed, but not surprised by the standard annual response of the usual suspects amongst environmental groups.

Fishermen have reacted strongly against proposals by Scottish Natural Heritage to extend 31 land-based Special Protection Areas up to four kilometres into the surrounding sea areas. The sites that will be part of the web-based consultation process range from the north of Shetland to the Borders and include islands such as Ailsa Craig, the Bass Rock, St Kilda the Flannan Isles, North Rona and Sulasgeir, which is the site of an annual cull of young gannets by the people of the Ness area of Lewis.

A German proposal to safeguard six species of the shark family in North east Atlantic waters has been agreed.

The decision today by OSPAR, the Commission for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Northeast Atlantic to add six species of sharks to their list of Threatened and Declining Species and Habitats has been welcomed by environmental groups incluing the Shark Alliance.

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.