A group of Scottish fishermen wants Holyrood to reinstate and expand on a 19th-century law by banning trawling as far as 12 miles from the shore.
Led by a Kyle of Lochalsh campaigner, the plan in front of MSPs would take the country back to 1889 when the government first set up a limit around the mainland.
The original three-mile law was scrapped in the 1980s, which the Scottish Creel Fishermen’s Federation says has contributed to the “complete collapse” of fish stocks along Scotland’s coasts.
The federation now wants the Scottish Government to reinstate a variation on the law that was first introduced when Queen Victoria was still on the throne.
And on the east coast, they would like it to go even further – possibly as far as 12 miles.
The Scottish Fishermen’s Federation said there is “no evidence” reinstating the three-mile limit around Scotland’s coastline “would improve sustainability or raise earnings”.
Elspeth Macdonald, from the federation, said: “All fishing methods, mobile and static, have an impact on the environment in some way, just as navigation, tourism, offshore energy generation or even just weather do.
“The Scottish Fishermen’s Federation has been working collaboratively with Marine Scotland in the designation and management of marine protected areas and if areas or features in inshore areas are found to need extra protection, there are well-established systems in place for their inclusion in the existing management frameworks, based on objective scientific evidence.
“The federation therefore believes there is no basis in the evidence for the sustainability claims.”
She added she wants “greater dialogue” to better understand inshore fisheries, and said there is “no evidence” creel fishing would become more economically viable than trawling if the three-mile limit was introduced.