The country's Foreign Minister Jørgen Niclasen  has written to Scotland’s First Minister, Alex Salmond, demanding that he "takes all appropriate  steps" to avoid future blockade attempts. The letter was sent as the war of words in the dispute started to hot up.

The Minister said that the vessel’s owners had an agreement with a company in Peterhead for the purchase and delivery of their catch, which amounted to some 1,150 tonnes of fresh mackerel.  A private protest action on the quayside and the apparent failure of the relevant local authorities to resolve the matter led to the vessel being unable to land the catch.

He added that the delays caused by this incident mean that the catch which was intended for human consumption can now only be used for fish meal production and will be landed in the Faroes instead.

In his letter, Mr Niclasen reminded Mr Salmond of the excellent relations that the Faroes and Scotland have long enjoyed as nearest neighbours, with active and mutually beneficial cooperation in many areas, in particular in fisheries and trade in fisheries products.  The Faroese Government therefore expects that Scottish authorities will not tolerate nor condone any further obstructive actions such as those seen yesterday in Peterhead.

Finally, Mr Niclasen underlined in his letter to the Scottish First Minister that any difference of views there may be in relation to the respective catches of mackerel nations in the region can only be resolved through a shared commitment by the Faroes, EU, Norway and Iceland to ensuring sustainable fisheries management through international agreements reached at the negotiating table.

But not every fishing firm agrees with the blockade. The action was  criticised at the weekend by the Torry based seafood firm J Charles which said UK supermarkets would be up to 70 per cent devoid of fish without supplies from Iceland or the Faroes.

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