Seòmar agus comataidhean

It is great to hear that you were determined to keep your doors open, to support other organisations to keep their doors open in relation to complaint handling, and to allow people to give feedback on the services that were being offered.

I will continue on the Covid-19 thread. I am keen to hear whether the cases that you receive are becoming more complex and whether the office has adequate resources and expertise to fulfil its role.

That is helpful. The act was written 20 years ago, and much has changed in the past 20 years.

I have a tiny question, although it might need too big an answer. I read in our papers that such changes would have to be done in primary legislation. I presume that we would look towards the next session of Parliament for that. What do we need to do now to set that up so that it can come about?

I am aware of the potential for the Subsidy Control Bill to constrain the Scottish Government’s ability to diverge from the UK Government on subsidy levels and policies. How might that bill affect the operation of the fisheries management and support common framework with regard to fisheries grants and subsidies?

That was a very helpful response. You mentioned that a bycatch mitigation initiative is due to be published. Is that a Scottish Government document or a joint document?

I want to continue on the science theme. Last week, the cabinet secretary announced a consultation on remote electronic monitoring with cameras to gather data and feed it into decision making and policy setting, so there is talk about rolling out and it is at the consultation stage. I would love to hear your initial thoughts on remote electronic monitoring giving you, your organisation, your members and the Government the science that you need to make better decisions.

I will continue on the theme of fishing opportunities. The Communities Inshore Fisheries Alliance called for

“a recognition that some coastal areas may wish to change and develop their current operations through diversification into new stocks or a changing of scale of fishing operations.”

Do you believe that the JFS should be more explicit about providing opportunities to inshore fleets to encourage that diversification and a transition to lower-impact modes of fishing?

As Professor Harrison touched on this issue, I will direct this question at him. In your opinion, does the joint fisheries statement provide enough detail to explain how the fisheries policy authorities will achieve the objectives in the UK Fisheries Act 2020?

Thank you.

Thank you very much for that response. As no one else wants to come in on that question, I will move on.

I will direct my next questions to Charles Millar and then Helen McLachlan. Do you have concerns about the way in which the joint fisheries statement proposes to meet the sustainability, climate and/or bycatch objectives? Do you think that the proposed measures are enforceable? Are the timeframes that are set out adequate? You both referred to that earlier. Is the language strong enough to require rather than merely encourage actions to be taken?

Thank you very much, Charles. It is very helpful that you have pointed out that, on the one hand, we are trying to look at an ecosystem objective but, on the other, we are considering single species. Maybe that is to do with a greater awareness of ecosystems, the need to look at the interconnectedness of everything and how we take care of a single species within that.

I address my question about objectives to Helen McLachlan. I have focused on the sustainability, climate and bycatch objectives, but you are welcome to speak about any of the objectives if you want to.