Fishermen celebrate after EU bid to increase catch quota cuts is fended off SCOTTISH fishermen were quietly celebrating today after securing their best catch quota deal for five years at marathon talks in Brussels. Fisheries Secretary hails "best deal we have seen for many years." UK and Scottish ministers fight off EU demands for cuts to landing quotas. Richard Lochhead, the Scottish Fisheries Secretary, claimed that the tide may have finally turned for the beleaguered Scottish fleet after UK and Scottish Ministers successfully fought off demands by Brussels bureaucrats for draconian cuts in some of the most important landing quotas for Scottish catchers. But North Sea fishermen will have to wait until the outcome of crucial talks at the end of next month between the European Union and Norway to learn their quota share for some of their most lucrative North Sea catches, including cod, haddock, herring, whiting and mackerel. At the conclusion of lengthy negotiations at the European Fisheries Council there were few quota gains for fishermen in both the North Sea and West coast sectors. But Ministers were praised for substantially reducing the scale of the dramatic quota cuts which had been originally tabled. As he emerged from the talks a relieved Mr Lochhead declared: "Our fishermen can leave Brussels knowing the tide might be finally starting to turn for them. It will not all be plain sailing, but instead of having to face wave after wave of cuts each year, there is now the opportunity for sensible decisions to be made that are not strangled by legal red tape. Stability Overall this is one of the best deals we have seen for many, many years. It was great news for Scotland's fishing industry that very early on we succeeded in securing some key priorities which removed the threat of a further automatic cut in days at sea and avoided a 20 per cent cut in cod quota. Tonight's talks have given us a good result, offering the industry long overdue stability and hopefully giving them a little bit of festive cheer. Mr Lochhead added: "It was a tough battle as the Commission had proposed cuts in TAC (total allowable catch) for the economically important stocks such as megrim on the west coast and I am pleased that we were able to strike a good deal on this. If we had not stood up to the EU lawyers it would have been a very different story - we must not forget that. This year's automatic cuts would have kicked in, crippling many vessels and leaving a trail of discards across the North Sea. Instead we have an outcome where our fishermen have enough days at sea to catch their quota, sustainable fishing is supported, less cod will be discarded and we have the freedom to negotiate with Norway to provide for a rollover for the TAC for cod. Valuable Under the new catch quota agreement West coast fishermen will have a 30 per cent cut in the quota for their mainstay catch of haddock next year. But they had originally been facing a demand for a 48 per cent cut in the valuable landings. Minister also agreed a 990 tonne haddock allocation for the Rockall fishery off the West coast, instead of the zero catch demanded by Brussels. There will, however, be an 18 per cent hike in valuable prawn landings on the west coast with a 20 per cent cut in the North Sea prawn catch. The monkfish quota, originally facing a 20 per cent cut, will only be reduced by five per cent in both fishing sectors. And West coast whiting landings, facing a proposed 20 per cent reduction, will only be cut by five per cent. Bertie Armstrong, the chief executive of the Scottish Fishermen's Federation said: "This is probably as a good deal as we could have hoped for and the best outcome we have had in five years. At the end of our briefing with Richard Lochhead there was a spontaneous round of applause from the skippers attending the talks Before the negotiations started we were facing the possibility of an effort downturn and a serious number of quota reductions. We have ended up with effort being frozen and, balancing the catch quotas together, what will be reasonable stability for Scottish fishermen through the year. Credit There are some obvious disappointments such as the West coast haddock quota, but overall this is the best deal we have had for five years. Mr Armstrong added: "Considerable credit has to go to the Scottish and UK Governments for their negotiating stance, which has ensured that a common-sense approach on fisheries management based on the science has been adopted. We were facing the very real danger of the decision-making being caught in legal red tape that would have caused immense economic hardship and done nothing to aid fish stock conservation and sustainable harvesting. Fishing effort in Scotland has been slashed by almost 70 per cent over the last 10 years and we were quite simply at a stage where the fleet could not sustain any more cuts. These were hard fought negotiations but on balance the package of measures agreed brings a degree of stability for the Scottish fleet in 2013. At next month's vital talks with Norway Scottish skippers are hoping to secure a 15 per cent increase in the North Sea haddock quota and a roll over on the cod catch, instead of the 20 per cent cut which has been tabled. Exploitation Maria Damanaki, the European Fisheries Commissioner, said: "The Commission proposal was more ambitious but I think the outcome is satisfactory. It is a great achievement that we have better scientific advice for fish stocks. We moved from last year's situation, where we had 61 per cent data poor stocks, to 15 per cent this year. It's a great change. An agreement was achieved to reach sustainable exploitation levels by 2015 for the great majority of the stocks on which we have scientific advice. We can have healthy stocks, more jobs and more income for our coastal communities. It is not a dream. It can be done. If we have the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy in place next year, this will improve the decision making process and the progress made in the European Parliament this week gives us good hope. Tavish Scott, the Shetland MSP and Scottish Liberal Democrat fisheries spokesman said: "The benefits of the UK and Scottish Governments working hard together for local fishermen are clear. Brussels had dangerous proposals that would have clobbered our boats. Most of these appear to have been dropped which is important and right. But the EU Norway negotiations in January still include a 20 pr cent cut in cod quota which would increase discards, not cut them. Ministers therefore need to keep their eye on the ball in these on-going negotiations.