A CASE is to be made for the re-introduction of a three-mile fishing limit zone around the west coast of Scotland at a conference on inshore fisheries this week.

The controversial proposal by the Scottish Creel Fishermen’s Federation for the re-introduction of the zone where trawlers or dredgers cannot fish – done away with by Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government in 1984 – is hotly contested by trawlers, represented by the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation.

But the Scottish Creel Fishermen’s Federation claim it’s time to re-examine the once “taboo” subject on Scotland’s west coast, claiming it will stop environmental damage and allow more diverse fish stocks to flourish.

They will present the proposal at the Scottish Inshore Fisheries conference on Friday, which aims to look at future opportunities to develop new models of fishing management in Scottish waters.

Alastair Philp, west coast co-ordinator of the Inshore Fisheries Group, said: “The removal of the three-mile limit has proven to be an unmitigated environmental and economic disaster of epic proportions.”

He claimed figures show a 98% decline in fin-fish landings from the former three-mile limit area, where fishermen currently catch prawns, both in traditional creels and in trawlers which drag a net along the sea floor. “There is the real possibility that we can substantially improve the health of our inshore ecosystem and our inshore fishing industry in a relatively short space of time and with relatively little effort,” added Philp. “The improvement could be so substantial as to double the amount of fishermen employed inshore, double the amount of vessels operating and double the revenues generated from the area.”

However Bertie Armstrong of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation dismissed the idea, which he said would damage the Scottish fishing industry. “There is no substance to this argument other than those fishing with creels would find have the waters to themselves,” he said. “The real answer is that there's room for everyone.” He insisted that it was “impossible” for creel fishers to even approach the 13,000 prawn quota and disputed claims that trawling was “unsustainable”.

Iain Blackford, MP for Ross, Skye and Lochaber and Westminster SNP leader, said it was important to support sustainable fishing. “I am very keen that we do all we can to support the creelers,” he said. “I’m conscious of the trawlers too in this but it might be time to revisit this discussion,” he said.

On Friday new figures showed Scottish-registered fishing vessels landed 466,000 tonnes of sea fish and shellfish with a value of £560 million in 2017. A Scottish Government spokesman said that there were no current plans to re-introduce the three-mile limit but added that it encouraged the development of inshore fisheries”.