THE latest round in the battle of Rockall involving Greenpeace and oil exploration companies will be staged in London today.

The Denizens of the Deep conference will hear from ocean scientists, energy specialists, environmentalists, Government departments and the oil and fishing industries.

Greenpeace has renamed Rockall the state of Waveland in its attempt to halt oil exploration and the burning of fossil fuels.

At the conference, it will raise the profile of species of fish living in the deep water off the Western Isles which because of their great age and the time it takes for them to reach reproductive maturity, could be damaged by oil exploration.

But with Norway, Spain, France and Germany already fishing deep-water species in the Atlantic, the conference could have implications for the fishing industry as a whole.

Doctor John Gordon, of the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) at Dunstafffiage, near Oban, said current work indicated that deep-water fish species must be treated with care.

He said: "All the deliberations on deep-water fish so far have recommended caution - from EU experts, meetings of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, to a House of Lords Select Committee.

"The age of shallow-water fish can be calculated fairly accurately by counting the layers of bone grown each year, like the rings on trees.

"Study of deep-water fish suggests that some of these could be over a hundred years old, implying that they start spawning after 10 years or more."

French boats began fishing in deep water in the 1970s for blue ling, black scabbard, orange roughy and grenadier.

Interest from the Scottish fleet is limited but there have been warnings from the Western Isles Fishermen's Association that Scottish boats must act quickly.

"If Scottish boats do not establish a track record then, if quotas are set, Spanish and French boats will get the lion's share because they will have established a history of catching these species," said association secretary Duncan Maclnnes.

Greenpeace is focusing on the effect of oil exploration in the area west of the Hebrides and the possibility that deep-water fish and species such as coral could be damaged.

Greenpeace executive director Peter Melchett said: "Both the oil and fishing industries have moved into the Atlantic Frontier area.

"While we have some knowledge of seabirds in this region, very little information exists on the deep-water fish and mammal species.

"We want to illustrate the remarkable bio-diversity of the deep ocean of the Atlantic Frontier and to consider the potential impacts of industrialising this area."

Dr Gordon added that they were conducting research into deep-sea species with 10 countries.

Scientists believe the fish may have fewer eggs and have slower growth rates.