"The main problem we have with the report is the call for further capacity cuts and these calls are fundamentally flawed. The baseline for calculating the white fish fleet is fundamentally wrong," said Alex Smith, president of the Scottish Fisherman's Federation, who himself fished for 40 years.

He said yesterday that the report has used estimates around four times larger than the actual size of the fleet in Scotland, where around 70 percent of Britain's white fish is caught.

Smith also said the idea of putting more boats out of action was "naive", adding: "They don't seem to have taken into consideration that our white fish fleet is only working at 50 percent capacity, 15 days a month.

"This industry cannot take any more cuts in its white fish fleet."

The industry in Europe has been in turmoil for years, with scientists saying stocks of many fish are dangerously low and trawlermen complaining that curbing their activities will lead to widespread job losses and businesses crashes.

The report was aimed at helping develop a long-term strategy for sustaining the fishing industry. It was given to the government and fisheries ministers in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales who will decide what steps to take.

Other proposals included introducing individually tradable quotas, decentralising industry control with regional managers and starting environmental assessments at major fisheries to help understand the impact on marine life.