Seòmar agus comataidhean

Thanks, everyone, for coming today. The evidence session has been really helpful.

At the start of the meeting, Susan Robertson, the Unite regional organiser, mentioned the need for strong workers’ rights and said that that should be a condition for any public funding for agriculture. I am interested in hearing a bit more from Susan and anyone else who would like to contribute on how we make that conditionality work in the new bill in relation to the different tiers.

Good morning.

Going back to the discussion around the original 3-mile limit and the references to the Cameron report, is it fair to say that its conclusion that the original limit could not be justified on conservation grounds did not take an ecosystems-based approach and did not factor in the impact on the sea bed and related species? Is it also the case that research and evidence in this area have moved on and that we now have a greater understanding of the importance of ecosystems management?

Can we take a vote on it?

I just want it to be noted that I wanted to keep the petition open.

What about the second part of my question? Do you see any dangers in the committee closing the petition?

I think that we should keep the petition open. The Scottish Government’s position is not clear to me, as it is still consulting on these issues. As the petitioner pointed out, we have had strong commitments in the past that have not materialised into action. It would therefore be premature to close the petition until we have a clear position from the Government and an outcome from the consultations.

As you will know, the Bute house agreement of November 2021 committed the Scottish Government to introducing highly protected marine areas and to capping fishing activity in inshore waters. The consultation on highly protected marine areas was launched only in December and is under way. As far as I am aware, the consultation on a cap on fishing activity has not yet begun.

To what extent would those proposals address the concerns that are raised in your petition? Given the current pace of work by the Scottish Government on those commitments, do you see any dangers if the committee were to close your petition today, prior to any progress on the Government’s commitments being made?

The minister mentioned that the bill will prevent the import of shark fins. Does she have any further information about fins being used as part of other products—for example, they might be ground up and incorporated into other products—or on whether there has been any research into the impact of the ban on importing such products, how widespread the practice is and how common shark fin importing is?

If retailers saw that the birds were not selling and that they therefore still had a lot in stock, would there be any option, as the convener suggested, to hold them back in order to put them on to the shelves in the new year, or will they literally have to be signed off as waste?

So, this is about consistency with previous legislation.