Fishing industry leaders have hit out at a deal agreed in Brussels that will cut the number of days they are allowed at sea.

European fisheries ministers had thrashed out an agreement on next year's EU quotas after twelve hours of talks.

UK fisheries minister Ben Bradshaw then emerged to hail an accord he said was good for conservation but even better for the pockets of the UK fleet - for the third year running.

But the deal has been criticised by Scottish fishermen, who are angry that they will lose between one and two days fishing every month as a result.

Bertie Armstrong, chief executive of the Scottish Fishermen's Federation, said they would not be allowed out for long enough to catch their quotas.

He told the Scottish Press Association from Brussels: "There is huge disappointment within the industry, and there will be some anger in elements of the fishing fleet that are affected by the decision to reduce days at sea.

"Undeniably, the opportunity to catch fish with regard to quotas was broadly satisfactory.

"However, for the white fish and prawn section, the crucial element is days at sea.

"There is no point in having quotas if we are physically incapacitated in the days we can catch it."

Mr Armstrong said that the decision meant that over the last five years, the number of days at sea for fishermen has halved.

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