BBC ‘The Scottish government has lodged an appeal against a ruling requiring it to reconsider the way fisheries should be managed in the seas off Skye.

The Scottish Creel Fishermen’s Federation (SCFF) wants a pilot project to be run which would see no trawling and dredging in some inshore areas.

The SCFF went to the Court of Session after the Scottish government turned down the proposal.

The government has now appealed against the judicial review the SCFF won.

Robert Younger, of legal organisation Fish Legal, which won the case for the SCFF, said it appeared the Scottish government was “desperate” to avoid the pilot scheme.

The Scottish government said it was “very much focused” on supporting the fishing industry, adding that a lot had happened since the start of the case in May last year.

Last month, the Court of Session ruled that the creel fishermen’s proposal was turned down by ministers solely because of the strength of opposition.

The judge, Lady Poole, said the SCFF’s proposal – to separate mobile and static fishing in Skye’s Inner Sound as part of a trial – had not been fairly considered before being rejected.

Mobile fishing, through trawling and dredging, can often come into conflict with static methods.

Creel fishermen – who lay their pots on the seabed before returning days later to empty them – say thousands of pounds worth of gear can be lost when a fishing boat drags its nets through an area.

The proposal was to designate some areas of the Inner Sound to static fishing while others could be used by the mobile fleet.’ Click here to read more