The Scallop Civil War: Part 2

I reported on the opening shots of the Scallop Civil War here. It now seems to be moving up a notch:

Crews on 20 Scottish scallop boats have been left searching for somewhere to fish amid an increasingly bitter row involving governments in Edinburgh, London and the Isle of Man.

The Manx Government has banned Scotland’s larger scallop vessels from its waters because of fears about the environmental impact of scallop dredging.

In response, the Scottish Government has banned scallop fishing in one of Scotland’s top fisheries.

Scotland’s scallop fleet traditionally fishes Manx waters at this time of year. Manx scallop boats fish Scottish waters earlier in the year.

Peace talks are underway:

A Scottish Government spokesman said there had been constructive discussions between Mr Salmond and the Isle of Man Chief Minister Tony Brown, and between Mr Lochhead and Mr Shimmin.

"During those discussions, all parties have recognised the need for a solution to the scallop- fishing issue. However, so far it has not been possible to reach a compromise."

Scallops are now the second most valuable shellfish in Scotland, worth £25 million per annum to the country, so the urgency to get it sorted is understandable.The implication, however, from the earlier reports was that the Scottish Administration were ultimately blaming the UK government for giving the green light to their Manx counterparts to implement this ban. Curiously enough then the UK's representatives seem to be excluded from the present talks between the Isle of Man and Scotland.