THE entire Essex fleet of small fishing boats could be forced to stay in port for seven months because of ever-shrinking fish quotas.

Wivenhoe and West Mersea fishermen say from June, the amount they are allowed to catch will be so small it won’t be be worth putting to sea.

Under the latest deal, vessels less than ten metres long have been allocated a share of just three per cent share of fish landed in the UK.

This means skippers in the small vessel fleet will be allowed to land just 50kgs – a 20th of a tonne – a month for the second half of 2010, unless Government officials can persuade German or Dutch fishermen to allow them more.

West Mersea fisherman Clive Mills said: “I’m furious about it. Our small boats are much more environmentally-friendly than the big trawlers which scoop up everything on the seabed.

“But we are the ones who have been left with nothing.”

The Marine Management Organisation, which manages fishing quotas for the Government, declined to comment because the issue was sensitive in the pre-election period.