A BAN on using electricity to hunt lucrative shellfish could be lifted following calls for Scottish fisherman to be exempt from EU laws.

A controversial technique, which sees electrodes trailing from boats shock razor clams in the seabed causing them to rise up where they are easily collected by divers, has been banned across Europe since 1998 when all fishing using electricity was outlawed.

However, a report authored by Marine Scotland last year concluded that electrofishing did not do the environmental damage that had previously been feared and that while the electric current had stunned other species making them vulnerable to predators, it did not cause direct fatalities.

Scottish fisherman have been lobbying ministers for a rule change, while police have warned that gangs working off the coast of Argyll have flouted the law by using the technique to illegally capture the costly clams, a gastronomic delicacy which can attract high prices in Europe and the Far East.

Environment secretary Richard Lochhead has confirmed he is considering applying for an exemption, which is already enjoyed by around 80 Dutch beam trawlers, despite admitting that the long-term impact of electrofishing is unknown.

He said: "Scientific studies have been conducted and these suggest that electrofishing could be more environmentally benign than other traditional methods, but this study did not address the broader question of long-term sustainability of razor clam populations under various levels of commercial fishing activity nor the medium to long-term effects of electrofishing.

"Further study and research will be required on these issues. In the meantime, the Scottish Government is considering whether to seek a derogation from EU law."

Last year, a clampdown was announced on electrofishing, following a surge in complaints. Police Scotland said illegal fishing for the clams was proving more lucrative than drug dealing, with criminals making thousands from a single trip. It has proven hard to identify offenders as equipment could be easily ditched overboard if the authorities approached.

In May 2011, a 42-year-old died while diving for razor clams in Largo Bay, Fife. The boat was believed to be using electrofishing techniques, although a court case heard that it was not known whether electricity from copper wires caused the death. The boat's skipper was jailed for nine months in March for health and safety failings.

In 2013, celebrity chefs including Andrew Fairlie and Tom Kitchin called for chefs to shun produce that was caught illegally, describing electrofishing as "one of the most damaging ways of catching food mankind has devised".

However, advocates believe the Marine Scotland report is changing perceptions, after it concluded it "does not have immediate or short term lethal effects, or prolonged behavioural effects, on vertebrate or invertebrate species exposed to the electric field generated."

Michael Russell, SNP MSP for Argyll and Bute, said he now backed a pilot scheme which he said was supported by evidence.

He said: "Science has supported this. The Marine Scotland report came to the conclusion that this practice did not cause environmental damage. The alternative is dredging, which is not desirable, so there really is a strong case for a pilot scheme.

"It's taking a bit of time for people to get their heads around it, as the previous school of thought was that this was not desirable, but if we can get this to work it could be very successful.

"The people who have been coming to me just want the chance to prove it can work. The conversation is ongoing, but I hope the Scottish Government will be willing to have a pilot scheme."

Approximately 40 Scottish vessels currently fish legally for razors. In 2013, 897.3 tonnes of razors were landed into Scotland, with a value of £3.1 million. Between 2010 and May last year, only eleven vessels were issued with Fixed Penalty Notices for electro-fishing with maximum fines only £2,000.

Alex Kinninmonth, living seas manager for the Scottish Wildlife Trust, said: "Crucially the law as it stands doesn't allow this practice in EU waters and we could only have confidence in any derogation if it was determined beyond any doubt that opening such a fishery wouldn't be detrimental in the long term to either razor clam stocks or other seabed wildlife."