according to Scottish fishing leaders who have criticised research that suggested that that is the case.

The study published in a science journal said careful management has helped recovery in areas such as Iceland and off the north east US coast, but that stocks in the North Sea were still threatened and require rebuilding.

SFF Chief executive Bertie Armstrong dismissed the report as inaccurate saying: "It is excessively gloomy. The real disappointment is that they have singled out the North Sea as an area not yet recovering when nothing could be further from the truth.

"We are not saying the problems are solved or anything remotely like it, but what we are saying is that we properly understand the problems and we are making really big efforts to put that right."

On the other hand a Scottish Government spokesman said: "There are still some stocks where mortality rates are currently running above maximum sustainable yield (MSY) targets. For these stocks, at least, it makes sense to see MSY as an initial target since it is moving exploitation in the right direction. Once that stage has been reached, it would be sensible to reconsider the value of MSY targets."

Louize Hill, marine policy officer with environmental group WWF Scotland, said: "We urge ministers to continue to work with Scotland’s fishing industry to ensure the effective roll-out of conservation measures already under way here and to use their influence to ensure that these measures are adopted by other member states throughout European waters.

"There is enough here to suggest we must continue and extend the efforts being taken to turn around the general decline in stocks."

Perhaps that final statement sums it all up.

On the other hand West Coast stocks are amongst the worst in terms of excessive fishing levels according to the report – the stocks of west of Scotland haddock and whiting, for example, are at their lowest on record, since 1978, while cod stocks are at their fourth lowest on record.

No surprise there either !

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