Regulations which are due to come into force at the start of next year will reduce the permissible safety level for toxins which can lead to Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning (ASP).

The Food Standards Agency in Scotland said the European Union measures are designed to avoid the large-scale shutdowns of scallop fishing which have happened when ASP has been discovered in the past.

Under the new "tiered system" of inspection, the most toxic parts of the scallop can be removed, allowing only parts which are below the toxin level to be sold.

Matthew Rumsey: Death knell for the industry

However, removing the roe of the shellfish, which is most likely to contain toxins, affects the weight and hence value of the scallop.

Scottish fishermen said the new levels will be "unworkable" and could wipe out the industry.

Sales of Scottish scallops are worth �30m a year and about 1,000 people are involved in the sector.

Safety concerns over toxin levels have led to temporary suspensions of fishing in Scottish waters in recent years.

Fishermen said the new rules will be tightened substantially and they do not understand why.

"There hasn't been one person reported ill from eating king scallops," said fisherman Matthew Rumsey.

Scallop farming

"Everybody is pretty much speechless, what can you say, it's wrapped up in bureaucracy and it's the end of the scallop industry."

Gordon Goldsworthy, who works in the fledgling scallop farming industry, said: "It takes five years to get a scallop to market size.

"I feel the regulations, the way they're currently set up, will be a serious problem for our industry and could well destroy it."

However, a spokeswoman for the Food Standards Agency in Scotland said: "These new proposed measures mean that fishermen would be able to access waters for scallop fishing that would otherwise have to be closed.

"Scallops harvested from these waters would be subject to strict processing controls to ensure public health is protected, but even allowing for this the industry should still benefit from increased accessibility of the scallop fishery."