But Mike Park, the executive chairman of the Scottish White Fish Producers' Association said that he knew that a high degree of "good housekeeping" was now operating within the sector, with skippers weighing up their options very carefully in a way that would not have happened before.

However, Mr Park added that he was not seeing a threat to fish supply continuity from the present situaton.

"I cannot see any signs of a mass tie-up because of the price of fuel."

But what was undoubtedy disappointing was the additional problem that North Sea haddock had yet to come on in the North Sea at a time when skippers were working hard to conserve cod stocks.

Meanwhile Jim Portus, the chief executive of the South Western Fish Producers' Orgaqnisation and the chairman of the producers' grouping UKAFPO, said that he was "less than enthusistic" at EU Fisheries Commissioner Joe Borg's assertion that the mis-match between catching power and resource had to be rectified if European fleets were to survive against a high fuel price background.

"What he does not acknowledge is that it was his Commission which actually set the overall structural targets which have been exceeded in most member states."

www.fishupdate.com is published by Special Publications. Special Publications also publish FISHupdate magazine, Fish Farmer, the Fish Industry Yearbook, the Scottish Seafood Processors Federation Diary, the Fish Farmer Handbook and a range of wallplanners.

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