Over 100 vessels are set to be scrapped in Scotland as part of a GBP 25 million decommissioning programme.
Approximately 108 Scottish whitefish vessel owners have been offered on average GBP 231,000 each to scrap their vessels and stop fishing.
The move comes as Europe waits for the new Common Fisheries Policy after a year long review.
Many in the industry think capacity needs to be dramatically cut in some parts of Europe if the industry is to be sustainable.
If all 108 vessel owners accept the offer nearly 12,3000 tonnes of capacity will be whipped from the fleet.
But so far there has not been any money offered to crew members who will lose their jobs as a a result.
The Irish and northern Irish fleets may also follow by scraping a percentage of their own fleets during 2002.
Measures have be taken over the last year to protect low cod stocks and other species in the North Sea.
