Scottish Government Debate: Supporting Scotland's Fishing Industry

Jim Fairlie S7M-01460 That the Parliament recognises the vital importance of Scotland’s fishing industry in sustaining jobs and livelihoods in island and coastal communities and across the wider economy; acknowledges the international reputation of Scottish seafood and the value that Scottish provenance brings to the sector in markets both at home and abroad; welcomes the Scottish Government’s commitment to supporting a profitable, innovative and sustainable fishing industry; believes that this requires ongoing engagement across the sector, including with its associated supply chain, environmental organisations and fishing communities; notes the continued support provided to the sector through the Marine Fund Scotland, and that effective quota management and licensing arrangements can provide stability and support investment; recognises the range of challenges facing the sector, including the UK Government’s damaging decision to unfairly allocate only £28 million, or 7.78% of the £360 million Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund to Scotland, despite Scotland’s fishing sector accounting for more than 60% of the UK’s fishing capacity; agrees with industry stakeholders that the UK Government must reverse this decision, and supports the Scottish Government’s approach to the forthcoming international negotiations on fishing opportunities for 2027, where it will seek to balance the sustainable management of fish stocks with the long-term prosperity of Scotland’s fishing communities. Further details available for S7M-01460 Donald MacKinnon S7M-01460.2 As an amendment to motion S7M-01460 in the name of Jim Fairlie (Supporting Scotland's Fishing Industry), leave out from “welcomes” and insert “considers that the voices of fishers, processors and coastal communities must be central to decisions affecting the sector; believes that the future of fishing depends on thriving places, with the infrastructure, skills, housing and opportunities needed to retain young people and support industry growth; recognises the growing concern among fishing, aquaculture, ports, renewable energy and conservation interests regarding the cumulative pressures on Scotland’s marine space; calls on the Scottish Government to provide certainty for all users of the sea on how competing demands for marine space will be managed and how any spatial squeeze will be addressed, and further calls on the Scottish Government to bring forward, as a matter of urgency, its long-delayed Marine Plan 2 to provide a clear, integrated and strategic framework for the sustainable management of Scotland’s seas.” Further details available for S7M-01460.2 Jamie Langan S7M-01460.1 As an amendment to motion S7M-01460 in the name of Jim Fairlie (Supporting Scotland's Fishing Industry), insert at end “and calls on the Scottish Government to provide clarity around its plans for Marine Protected Areas and broader management of marine areas, and encourages the Scottish Government to look at the Norwegian Marine Resources Act as a model for recognising in law the socio-economic value of the fishing industry.” Further details available for S7M-01460.1 Ariane Burgess S7M-01460.5 As an amendment to motion S7M-01460 in the name of Jim Fairlie (Supporting Scotland's Fishing Industry), insert at end "welcomes the findings of Environment Standards Scotland’s Protecting Scotland’s Seafloor report, which calls on Scottish Ministers to take actions to meet their legal obligations to the marine environment, and believes that fully implementing the National Marine Plan is crucial to sustaining Scotland’s fishers and coastal communities for the long-term." Further details available for S7M-01460.5 James Adams S7M-01460.3 As an amendment to motion S7M-01460 in the name of Jim Fairlie (Supporting Scotland's Fishing Industry), insert at end “and backs the principle that fishermen should be protected from, or compensated for, any financial loss caused by the expansion of offshore wind farms into their long-established fishing grounds.” Further details available for S7M-01460.3 Andrew Baxter S7M-01460.4 As an amendment to motion S7M-01460 in the name of Jim Fairlie (Supporting Scotland's Fishing Industry), insert at end "; believes that there is a spatial squeeze, due to an increasing demand in marine space and that steps must be taken to address the impacts the fishing sector is facing due to this demand, including striking a new settlement on space-based planning for Scotland's seas, which respects local knowledge and ensures the right activity happens in the right place as well as a comprehensive scheme of compensation for fisherman who are displaced; notes long held concerns about the level of Scottish Government investment into its Marine Directorate and whether it is fit for purpose; calls therefore on the Scottish Government to conduct a review of the Directorate and to examine whether it should be replaced with a decentralised system, which manages waters as locally as possible, and further calls on the Scottish Government to bring forward a scheme on creel limits." Further details available for S7M-01460.4