Mr Scott said: 'I am dismayed that despite the UK Government recently banning the fishing of tope other than by rod and line and setting a by-catch limit of 45kg a day, Richard Lochhead is refusing to do likewise. This has created a bizarre situation with the targeting of tope being legal on one side of the Solway, but not the other.

'These magnificent fish are highly prized by anglers and are therefore of great economic value to our tourism industry, and yet like so many other species of shark are at great risk because of over-fishing.

'While Mr Lochhead may protest that there is presently no significant targeted tope fishery in Scotland, he need only look at the catastrophic decline of another shark species, the spurdog, in Scottish waters over recent years to see what can happen. Ultimately, if there is no significant targeted fishery, then what does he have to fear from a ban?'

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

Printer friendly version

Email this article to a friend