More drastic cuts in fish catches in the name of conservation have been demanded by the European Commission.
Reductions of 25% in cod catches, and smaller but significant reductions in the permitted plaice, sole and hake annual allowance will be presented to EU fisheries ministers later this month.
And although the Commission has rejected latest calls from scientists to ban cod fishing in the North Sea altogether, the cuts will dismay hard-pressed fishermen facing another round of belt-tightening.
EU fisheries Commissioner Joe Borg said his proposals reflected the scientific reality: "While the scientific advice is mixed, we must take heart from the positive signs observed in some of the stocks subject to long-term plans.
"This means that we must consolidate our gradual approach to regaining sustainability in all our fisheries by basing it securely on science and combining it with stakeholders' expertise to deliver sound fisheries management".
The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) has urged that cod stocks are now in such a dire state that cod fishing should be stopped in the North Sea.
But the Commission knows that most EU fisheries ministers - including the UK's Ben Bradshaw, see such a ban as too high a social and economic price to pay for replenishing stocks.
ICEs has advised a fishing ban for several years running - the best chance, say the experts, for the recovery of depleted stocks.
And they are likely to claim that the failure to impose a total cod fishing ban increases the need for a tougher crackdown each year.
Mr Borg acknowledged the problem: his recommendation to the fisheries ministers meeting later this month in Brussels says the Commission is proposing a 25% cod fishing cut "in the absence of any significant improvement in cod stock, or of clear quantitative scientific advice."
