Agriculture Minister Geoffrey Boot has insisted it is crucial to keep good relations with neighbours following the Manx government’s climbdown on fisheries protection measures.

The Isle of Man Government gave in to Scottish demands over protection measures for the Manx scallop fishery.

Daily reporting of catches by visiting scallop trawlers was introduced last month, but following protests from Scottish fishermen and threats of a dispute from the Scottish Government, the requirement was lifted.

The issue came under the spotlight in the House of Keys last week and Mr Boot pointed out that the future of fisheries jurisdictions could be affected by Brexit.

He added: ’We should always bear in mind that fish do not all live in our territorial sea all of the time, and they are mobile.

’We need to co-operate with other authorities in conservation matters and at the moment king and queen scallops are our main fishery.

’Maybe that will change in the future and some of our vessels will require access to other territorial seas. So, we have to be careful not to close the door completely and we need co-operation with our neighbours.’

Under the revised protection measures, fishing vessel owners and skippers who misreport their king scallop catch from Manx waters risk having their licences suspended.

Mr Boot explained the background to the dispute, after being questioned by Jason Moorhouse (Arbory, Castletown and Malew).

’A recent scientific stock assessment report has clearly indicated that stocks are under threat and in need of protection from overfishing,’ the minister said.

’To act on this and on the recommendation of the Isle of Man Scallop Management Board, the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture introduced a total allowable catch for this year’s fishery, along with a daily catch limit for each vessel to ensure sustainable fishing opportunities were available through to the end of the season.’

In December, however, incidents of catch ’misreporting’ were spotted, which raised concerns that if it was a frequent occurrence it could affect ’stock security’. That led to the daily reporting requirement.

Mr Boot added: ’The UK fisheries administrations and the Scottish government in particular were opposed to this proposal due to the potential economic impact on UK vessels having to travel the extra distance to report before travelling home.

’Furthermore, Scotland was of the opinion that the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture had breached the 2012 Fisheries Management Agreement as there had been no consultation process.’

Negotiations followed, resulting in the Isle of Man U-turn.