The Scottish Parliament's rural affairs committee reported on Wednesday that it had great sympathy for the industry but it had decided that a financial hand-out was not the solution at present.

The toxin was found in shellfish samples

It has instead called for more money to be ploughed into researching the fish disease Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning which led to the ban being put in place.

Fishing scallops was halted in the summer after unusually high levels of the toxin were found in samples of shellfish.

At the end of August, fishermen pleaded with the government to take immediate action.

They warned if something was not done urgently then livelihoods, especially on Scotland's islands, would be ruined.

Waters as far north as Cape Wrath to the islands of Islay and Jura were closed off to scallop fishing.

Fish processors on islands like Mull laid off staff and local restaurants and fish shops lost out on scallop sales during the vital tourist season.