Scottish fishermen claim to have won vital support from the fisheries minister in their fight against a European ban on cod fishing.

Talks between fishermen's leaders and Ross Finnie have "clarified" his willingness to defend the industry in the face of a scientific report which recommends a blanket ban on cod fishing in the North Sea and Irish Sea.

The report, which was widely leaked, will be used as the basis for annual European Union fishing quotas.

Fishermen fear that a ban on cod fishing could lead to the loss of 10,000 to 15,000 jobs in Scotland.

Hamish Morrison: "A move forward"

White fish such as haddock or whiting, which are often caught in the same nets as cod, could also be included in the ban.

Fishermen are also worried about the possibility of the ban being extended to cover prawn fishing.

After the meeting with fishermen's leaders, Mr Finnie said: "I am quite clear I have no intention at all of presiding over the decline of the Scottish fishing industry."

Scottish Fishermen's Federation chief executive Hamish Morrison said: "We made some progress.

Bizarre report

"The minister clarified his position in terms of his willingness to defend the industry - but of course stopping short of defending the industry if he was concerned that the state of stocks would be irreparably damaged by it.

"That is, believe it or not, a move forward.

"Earlier on it had appeared he had more or less decided to accept this rather bizarre report from the scientists, to swallow it whole."

Mr Finnie said his job was to ensure Scotland had a sustainable fishing industry.

He said that he could understand the fishermen's reaction to the report, but could not ignore the evidence that stocks were in a "very serious condition indeed".

Ross Finnie has been in talks with fishing leaders

The minister said the task now was for all involved to draw up proposals over the coming weeks to meet the "evidential basis" of the report.

"We do think the measures being suggested by the scientists are perhaps unnecessarily draconian," he said.

"But that still puts on both of us a real burden to try to find a solution to the problem."

The minister said the scientists had admitted that some of the efforts already made by the industry in Scotland had not been factored into the scientific advice.

Scotland has reduced the size of its fleet by 18% through decommissioning and it is using nets with larger mesh sizes.

The minister admitted that the coming weeks, which will culminate in a December meeting of the EU's Fisheries Council, would be a "difficult" period.