Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-25559

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 26 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the licensing conditions for wrasse harvesting and its evidence base for carrying out an appropriate assessment of wrasse fisheries management in special areas of conservation, what the maximum recorded age is for each species of wrasse.

Question reference: S6W-25558

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 25 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the licensing conditions for wrasse harvesting and its evidence base for carrying out an appropriate assessment of wrasse fisheries management in special areas of conservation, in relation to the (a) goldsinny, (b) rock cook, (c) corkwing, (d) ballan and (e) cuckoo species of wrasse, what length the (i) male and (ii) female fish are on their (A) first, (B) second, (C) third, (D) fourth and (E) subsequent breeding season(s).

Question reference: S6W-25557

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 25 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the licensing conditions for wrasse harvesting and its evidence base for carrying out an appropriate assessment of wrasse fisheries management in special areas of conservation, in which months of the year the gonads of the (a) goldsinny, (b) rock cook, (c) corkwing, (d) ballan and (e) cuckoo species of wrasse (i) are most developed and (ii) spawn.

Under the Habitats Regulations there is a requirement to carry out an appropriate assessment where an activity is capable of affecting a designated feature of a Special Area of Conservation (SAC). Wrasse are not a protected feature in any Scottish SAC.

At the introduction of the licence variation ,The Scottish Government was not required to carry out an Appropriate Assessment (AA) for the wrasse fishery under the Habitats Regulations, as wrasse are not protected features in any of Scotland’s Special Areas of Conservation. The licence condition brought control to a fishery that previously had no management measures. There is an association between wrasse and rocky reef, however an appropriate assessment would only be required if evidence showed pots had a significant impact on the reefs. We will continue to work with NatureScot and if evidence shows an AA is necessary, one will be undertaken. Therefore, at this present time, the Scottish Government does not hold the information you have requested. Additional data collected through the licence condition to fish for wrasse will be published in the coming months.

Question reference: S6O-03288

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 March 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022.

Question reference: S6W-25555

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 28 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the licence conditions to fish for wild wrasse, how its Marine Directorate ensures that each vessel deploys a maximum of 250 wrasse traps at any one time.

Marine Directorate Compliance Operations use a risk-based procedure which considers intelligence, likelihood, and impact on environment and fishery resources to ensure the conditions of the wrasse derogation are adhered to. For example, wrasse fishers are required to submit weekly data returns, in addition to their FISH1 forms, which can highlight if a fisher may be using more than 250 traps a day.

Marine Directorate have recently consulted on proposals to require a tracking device on all under 12 metre fishing vessels in Scotland. The consultation responses are currently being analysed and will be published in due course and depending on the outcome of the consultation, if implemented, this could provide additional compliance monitoring of the fishery.

Question reference: S6W-25556

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 27 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many vessels are currently licensed to fish for wild wrasse, and how many of these use creels for other species in addition to wrasse traps.

The wrasse fishing season is open from 1 May to 30 November, so at present no vessels hold a derogation giving permission from Scottish Ministers to fish for wild wrasse. Applications are assessed on a year by year basis, and do not automatically carry over. In the 2023 season, 67 vessels were issued with a derogation and of those 51 used creels to fish for other species at some point over the course of 2023.

Question reference: S6F-02798

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 05 February 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 February 2024

To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to strengthen enforcement powers in relation to long-term empty homes.

Question reference: S6W-25083

Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Withdrawn

Question reference: S6W-24713

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 22 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 30 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will work with the UK Government to pause, review and improve the Shared Rural Network programme through consulting with rural communities across the Highlands to (a) establish their digital connectivity needs, (b) avoid construction of new access tracks unless no other method is possible, (c) avoid construction in the Highlands' designated and other environmentally sensitive wild areas and (d) ensure that mobile operators share mast infrastructure, rather than building adjacent masts.

The Scottish Government has no formal role in the Shared Rural Network (SRN) programme. SRN is a joint venture between the UK Government and the UK's four main mobile network operators. Equally, telecommunications policy is currently reserved to the UK Government.

Scottish Government officials continue to engage with the UK Government and the mobile network operators on SRN delivery and to encourage them to prioritise community and stakeholder engagement.

The Scottish Government recently completed the delivery of the Scottish 4G Infill programme, which deployed 55 masts in rural and island communities. Lessons learned from the programme have been shared with the SRN programme team, focusing in particular on the importance of thorough local stakeholder engagement at the mast site selection and acquisition stage. We will continue to facilitate discussions between UK Government and key stakeholders and to push for as much transparency as possible on the locations of masts and the rationale for why these have been chosen.

Question reference: S6W-23916

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 18 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the potential impact on the fishing sector in Scotland, what representations it has made to the UK Government regarding a review of the English language requirements for fishing crew who enter the UK on a skilled worker visa.

The Scottish Government is strongly opposed to the current UK Government’s approach to immigration, which has failed to meet Scotland’s needs. The recent changes to the immigration rules are unacceptable. Increasing the Skilled Worker salary threshold by a third to £38,700 will limit the seafood and other sector’s ability to access the labour they require to grow and succeed.

We have consistently called for changes to Skilled Worker Visa provision to be made to ensure that route is genuinely proportionate and accessible to all parts of the fishing fleet. That includes ensuring that English language requirements – and associated costs for testing - are proportionate, whilst also recognising the importance of appropriate English language abilities to ensuring vessel safety and to reducing the risk of worker exploitation.

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