Seòmar agus comataidhean

Would it improve the reporting and monitoring of incidents if larger boats were fitted with electronic monitoring equipment?

Do you think that the tracking is a good thing? It sounds as though you do.

The current provisions seem to make exceptions for the tail docking of working dogs and the declawing of cats. In the light of those exceptions, are you satisfied with the legislation? Does it go far enough?

It would make sense for me to direct my first question to Professor Bill Austin. How important is carbon capture and storage in marine and coastal environments in respect of climate change? What are the main pressures on blue carbon stores in Scotland?

The bill seems to be quite narrow in scope, specifically focusing on the good food nation plans. What was the thinking behind that? What are the practical implications of having such a focused purpose for the bill?

I think that a lot of people expected that a right to food would be included in the bill. Can we expect to see that? If not, why was that decision taken?

It is important that island impact assessments do not become just a box-ticking exercise and that, if concerns or issues crop up through the assessments, they are acted on. Are witnesses able to share any examples that they have come across where a concern or issue that was raised in an impact assessment has had a substantive impact on a public body’s course of action, so that something has been implemented off the back of the assessment?

We have significant public ownership of island transport infrastructure, including ferries and HIAL, which has experienced industrial disputes recently because of the centralisation of its air traffic controller jobs to the mainland. My question is for Jenny Milne and Alex Reid. Do you have any views on the responsibility of the Scottish ministers to island communities in relation to public ownership of transport infrastructure as it relates to connectivity and jobs for the islands?

I will stay with the topic of land use and management. The number of farmers is reducing, we have an ageing population and many potential new farmers are priced out of starting up because of the cost of land. The recent programme for government contained commitments on modernising tenant farming and reforming legislation on small holdings. Are there any measures that the witnesses would like to be taken to make things easier for potential new producers starting out and to put power into the hands of people who work the land?

As has been said, we are facing a climate and ecological emergency. We have also heard about the importance of blue carbon as well as the damage that is being done to our marine environment by some parts of the fishing industry. Are any sections of the fishing industry incompatible with Scotland’s ambitious targets?