First Minister Alex Salmond yesterday sought to increase the pressure on Westminster for Scotland to lead the UK delegation in EU fisheries talks by announcing he plans to lobby Gordon Brown directly on the matter.
Mr Salmond said he hoped the fact that the Prime Minister represented a Fife constituency would increase the chances of him looking favourably on the executive's request.
The First Minister made his comments as he prepared to meet Jack Straw, the Lord Chancellor, today to discuss the UK's response to the car bomb attack on Glasgow airport almost two weeks ago.
It will be the first time that Mr Salmond will have met a member of the UK cabinet since he took office in May.
Speaking following meetings with four EU commissioners during his two-day visit to Brussels, Mr Salmond said the government led by Tony Blair was "not enthusiastic" about the SNP's calls for Scotland to take the lead on fisheries. "But now it is a matter for Gordon's government, and Gordon as a Fife MP might have more interest in the fishing issue than his predecessor," he said.
EU fisheries ministers meet every December to set quotas for the coming year but although Scottish executive officials form part of the UK delegation, Westminster always takes the lead in the negotiations.
Scots fishermen have consistently argued that they are unfairly penalised when the quotas are set.
Mr Salmond insisted the case for Scotland to take the lead was justified because 70% of the fish caught in UK waters are landed off the Scottish coast.
He said: "There is a world of difference between being part of the UK team and leading it. The leader decides who speaks and as a member of the delegation in the past, the Scottish case has sometimes not been put directly at all."
In a speech to EU representatives on Wednesday evening, Mr Salmond compared Scotland's position to that of the devolved administration of Flanders, which leads Belgium's fisheries delegation.
"In my view, just as Flanders leads for Belgium at the fisheries council, so should Scotland lead for the UK," he said.
Mr Salmond will raise the issue with Mr Brown ahead of this year's fisheries talks but early indications yesterday were that they would once again fall on deaf ears.
A spokesman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs at Westminster said: "While UK ministers will continue to take the lead in handling EU business, we continue to actively engage with Scottish colleagues at ministerial and official level on all the key fisheries dossiers as they develop - and ensure that the UK lines we ultimately adopt reflect the appropriate balance of interests."
The Labour Party in Scotland reacted angrily to Mr Salmond's demands, with Rhona Brankin, the Shadow Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment, dismissing it as "predictable grandstanding".
She said: "The UK coastline is shared between Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland - all with major fishing industries.
"So the notion that Scotland should have the sole right to speak for the UK on fisheries matters is fanciful nonsense."
Mr Salmond's meeting with Jack Straw will take place today at Bute House, the First Minister's official residence in Edinburgh.
A senior aide to Mr Salmond said: "They will have a fairly open discussion about the co-operation that took place between the two governments after the Glasgow airport attack and there will be a range of other issues."
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