Grimsby's fish merchants and the processing sector have been left sweating the outcome of last week's haddock quota catch reductions in Iceland and the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea's recommendations for cod in the North Sea.

On Thursday Iceland’s Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture announced it is increasing cod quotas by 3 percent next year, in line with scientific advice from the Marine Research Institute (MRI).

From Sept. 1 the total allowable catch (TAC) for haddock will be reduced by 28 percent, to 40,723 metric tons, although cod catch quotas will increase by 3 percent, from 264,437 metric tons to 272,411 metric tons.