The scientists who advise the European Union on fish quotas have recommended a ban on cod fishing off the west of Scotland, in the North Sea and in the Irish Sea until stocks have recovered.

BBC environment correspondent Sarah Mukherjee takes a closer look at their recommendations.

Who are these scientists and why do they want a cut in cod fishing?

They belong to Ices (International Council for the Exploration of the Sea) which is the organisation that coordinates and promotes scientific investigation in the North Atlantic.

Ices scientists from 19 member countries conduct their research through more than a 100 working groups, and they are the main source of advice for the EU when it comes to deciding fish quotas.

Last year, Ices scientists advised a ban on fishing for North Sea cod and the EU responded with a 45% cut in cod fishing quotas last December.

But the interim quotas that were brought in as an emergency measure after the December decision were not implemented - the EU is still trying to sort out the practicalities of last year's decision.

How real is the threat to fish stocks?

Scientists say that we simply cannot carry on fishing in the North and Irish Seas at the level that we are doing at present.

They say despite attempts at reducing fishing quotas, and a decommissioning programme for fishing boats, cod stocks are still declining, and are now at such low levels that only a total ban will save them from total collapse.

And it is not just cod. Ices is advising that whiting in the Irish Sea and southern hake should not be fished either. Plaice are now at close to historically low levels and the Ices scientists are recommending an action plan for that species, too.

Recently, Britain's academy of science, the Royal Society, described current fishing policies in Europe as an outrage, and warned that unless real action was taken now there could be nothing left to fish in the future.

However, this year's Ices report is not all negative. North Sea haddock stocks are the highest they've been for 30 years and north east Atlantic mackerel are also in good shape.

Fishermen say they are still finding and catching plenty of fish, and the scientists are being over-pessimistic.

Are there any precedents for a fishing ban?

In 1992, the Canadian Government imposed a total cod fishing ban off Newfoundland.

Its once vast, rich stocks of cod had been sent into freefall when industrial fishing methods took over from the smaller scale practices that had gone before.

The economic consequences were huge. The population in fishing areas reduced dramatically as people moved in search of other work. Property values plummeted as people trying to migrate out of the region attempted to sell their houses.

Some fishing has continued, as shellfish moved in to take the place of the cod. But 10 years on, fish stocks have not recovered.

Are there any alternatives to a ban?

The scientists say no - fishing for other species will still have an impact, as cod can be caught as an unintended by-product of such fishing.

There are more environmentally sympathetic ways of fishing, but the scientists say the only way to have a chance of shoring up stocks is simply to stop fishing.

What will be the impact on European fishermen?

They say jobs have been lost already and boats scrapped as a result of last year's quota reductions, and they warn that entire communities could be destroyed - the sort of thing that happened in Newfoundland.

But other commentators say the situation is not as bleak as that for some.

In Scotland, for example, much of the fish processing done in the region is of species that come from far further afield than local waters.

What happens next?

From now, it is a question of horse trading by EU fisheries ministers at the forthcoming Fisheries Council meetings, with the big decisions to be made in December.

This annual pre-Christmas round of fishing negotiations is nothing new - politicians, journalists and environmentalists are used to trying to stay awake through the night as the negotiators battle it out for the best deal for their respective countries.

This year, the scientists will be arguing that only a ban will do to save stocks - and the EU Fisheries Commissioner, Franz Fischler, has said in the past that drastic action is needed.

If previous meetings are anything to go by, however, not all member states will have the political stomach to agree to go home and start dismantling their fishing fleets in the New Year.