The Manx government has caved into Scottish demands over protection measures for the island’s scallop fishery.

Daily reporting of catches by visiting scallop trawlers was introduced earlier this month.

Fishermen in Kircudbright, which is the UK’s largest scallop landing port, said the move could put jobs and livelihoods at risk.

Dumfries and Galloway Council took up the issue with the Scottish Government which threatened to invoke a dispute resolution process.

But now the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture has announced that from yesterday (Monday) the requirement will be lifted.

Instead, fishing vessel owners and skippers who misreport their king scallop catch from Manx waters risk having their licences suspended.

The move follows further discussions between the Manx government and other Irish Sea jurisdictions.

Environment, Food and Agriculture Minister Geoffrey Boot said: ’We hope owners and skippers will take their obligation to accurately record their catch more seriously if they know cheating won’t be tolerated and they could lose access to Manx waters.

’The measure will not impact on the vast majority of law-abiding owners and crews who understand and co-operate with regulations.’

Eighty-nine vessels are licensed to fish for king scallops in Manx waters this season which runs until May 31.

Concerns over misreporting prompted the DEFA to take action to protect stocks for all who rely on the fishery for a living by requiring vessels to report daily to a Manx port for catch inspection.

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With this requirement now lifted, the DEFA says it will suspend licences of vessels where there are reasonable grounds to suspect owners/skippers are cheating by under-declaring their catch.

Licence suspension may also be invoked if other breaches of regulations are identified.

The DEFA Minister said: ’Manx waters form the heart of the king scallop fishing industry and fleets around the Irish Sea rely on them for a living.

’The Isle of Man Government has the support of UK fisheries partners in taking steps to ensure stocks are sustainable.’

A UK report on the king scallop dredging industry reveals the true extent of the problems facing the Manx fishery.

The report by Seafish Economics includes maps showing how the Isle of Man now has the highest concentration of dredging operations anywhere in the British Isles.

After talks with Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, Chief Minister Howard Quayle said both agreed the Manx fishery must be protected long term because of its economic importance and overfishing must be prevented.