Government figures show that the quota for Cod for under 10m vessels in Cornwall has now reached crisis point depsite assurance from the Ministry earlier this week, claims a prospective parliamentary candidate.

The figures just release show the quota uptake at 94% with only two tonnes remaining for the rest of the year.

Sheryll Murray, Conservative PPC for South East Cornwall said: "This situation is a disaster. The Ministry announced an additional 20 tonnes of Cod had been secured but their spreadsheet simply does not show this.

"The sheet shows landing data up until February 14, but the additional 20 tonnes claimed to have been secured on Monday is not included.

"Boats received a notice yesterday reducing the Cod quota per vessel to 50kg and yet there is still a large amount of mature Cod being captured. With good weather forecast for the weekend, boats could be faced with a situation where they are discarding most of their catch. this situation is a disgrace.

"Ben Bradshaw must take action now. These tiny vessels cannot afford the economic sacrifice they are being forced to make by the Government.

"The Marine environment cannot afford the type of pollution discarded dead fish causes. It seems unfair that France has 73% of the EU quota when the UK only has 8%."