Richard Lochhead spoke out after annual advice recommended the total amount of mackerel fished should fall by 15% in 2013, to 542,000 tonnes. But Scots fisherman have been angered by the actions of Iceland and the Faroe Islands, who both dramatically increased their catch limits.

Mackerel is Scotland's most valuable fish stock, with £164 million worth of it landed in 2011. Last year the Faroes set a mackerel catch of 150,000 tonnes, up 75% in a year and five times the agreed share from 2009, while Iceland set its own increased catch of about 147,000 tonnes last year.

Mr Lochhead said: "It is infuriating and deeply frustrating that Scottish fishermen face the prospect of reduced quotas."