Northern Isles MP Alistair Carmichael has urged the UK and Scottish Governments to push for reform of the “unbalanced” EU-Faroe fishing deal.
The Liberal Democrat former Scottish secretary said there is “grave concern” in the pelagic industry about how the 2014 agreement is operating.
It has been met with “substantial scepticism,” he added, insisting the need for an urgent review was becoming clearer week by week.
As the Press and Journal reported yesterday, fishing chiefs have united to demand a rethink of the deal, which allows Faroe to catch one-third of its mackerel quota, or 40,000 tonnes, in EU waters.
In a joint statement ahead of crunch talks in Copenhagen next week, the Scottish Pelagic Fishermen’s Association (SPFA) and Shetland Fishermen’s Association (SFA) want a “rebalancing” of the arrangement.
During a debate in Westminster Hall, the Commons second chamber, Mr Carmichael said the recent Seafish study revealed the Faroese over-caught their entitlement of mackerel by 1,400 tonnes this year.
He told MPs: “The Faroese were given an inch in 2014, since which time they have taken a mile.
“The deal looks more and more unbalanced with every day that passes. It requires urgent attention from Britain and the EU.”
The Orkney and Shetland MP also repeated his call for greater flexibility in the management of the demersal discard ban which is due to come into effect next year.
He has previously urged David Cameron to use the “unprecedented opportunity” offered by his renegotiation of Britain’s membership with the EU to raise the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP).
In October, the UK Government announced a package of support for fishermen as they prepare for the next stage of the ban.
It has already come into force for mid-water pelagic species, like mackerel, and will apply to demersal fish, such as haddock and sole, from January.
Last month, European fishing chiefs set out their proposals for catch limits for more than 60 Atlantic/North Sea fish stocks as their opening gambit in negotiations over a 2016 quota deal.
The European Commission (EC) said it aimed to maintain or increase quotas for 35 stocks, and reduce catches for 28 stocks on the basis of the scientific advice received.
“Top-ups” are being introduced for the first time to compensate skippers who from the start of next year will have to land white-fish that in the past would have been thrown overboard as discards.