- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 23 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 3 February 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether it can provide details of how many respondents (a) supported and (b) opposed, the proposed zonal fisheries management measures for offshore MPAs, as outlined in its consultation on "Fisheries management measures within Scottish Offshore Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)”.
Answer
Of those who responded specifically to the question on zonal management measures, 66% were in support and 25% were opposed (with the remaining 9% being neutral).
The full consultation analysis report was published on 31 January and can be found on the Scottish Government website.
- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 23 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 3 February 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what regular meetings it has with representatives from the fishing industry regarding its climate change targets.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to the question S6W-33849 on 31 January 2025. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers
- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 23 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 3 February 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what evidence it has gathered on the “updated quantitative evidence on the gender pay gap in fisheries across the sector”, as referenced in the June 2022 publication, Women in Scottish Fisheries: A literature review on experiences, challenges and opportunities for women working in the Scottish fishing industry.
Answer
Information on the gender pay gap is collected by the Office for National Statistics and this includes information on the fisheries and aquaculture industry in Scotland. Further info can be accessed via this link
https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/annualsurveyofhoursandearningsashegenderpaygaptables
Table 5.12 provides information on the pay gap by region and industry.
- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 24 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 3 February 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many times since being appointed to the post the (a) Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands and (b) Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity has met Open Seas where the fishing industry was part of discussions.
Answer
Myself and the Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity have not met formally with Open Seas whilst the fishing industry were present as part of the discussion, since we were appointed to our roles in May 2024.
- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 24 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 3 February 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many times since being appointed to the post the (a) Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands and (b) Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity has met Friends of the Earth Scotland where the fishing industry was part of the discussions.
Answer
Myself and the Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity have not met formally with Friends of the Earth Scotland whilst the fishing industry were present as part of the discussion, since we were appointed to our roles in May 2024.
- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 24 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 3 February 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many times since being appointed to the post the (a) Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands and (b) Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity has met Stop Climate Chaos Scotland where the fishing industry was part of the discussions.
Answer
Myself and the Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity have not met formally with Stop Climate Chaos Scotland whilst the fishing industry were present as part of the discussion, since we were appointed to our roles in May 2024.
- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 24 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 3 February 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many times since being appointed to the post the (a) Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands and (b) Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity has met the Marine Conservation Society where the fishing industry was part of the discussions.
Answer
Myself and the Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity have not met formally with the Marine Conservation Society whilst the fishing industry were present as part of the discussion, since we were appointed to our roles in May 2024.
- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 24 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 3 February 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many people were prosecuted on the suspicion of committing an offence listed in the Salmon (Fish Passes and Screens) (Scotland) Regulations 1994 in each year since 2021.
Answer
The Salmon (Fish Passes and Screens) (Scotland) Regulations 1994 were revoked in 2013. Therefore, there have been no prosecutions for offences under these regulations since 2021.
The Salmon (Fish Passes and Screens) (Scotland) Regulations 1994 were revoked in 2013 and regulation of activities affecting the water environment, including barriers to salmon migration, is now done under the Water Environment (Controlled Activities) (Scotland) Regulations 2011. This framework allows for a broader suite of enforcement options compared with the Salmon (Fish Passes and Screens) (Scotland) Regulations 1994, which only allowed prosecutions.
Enforcement Actions by Type | Number of enforcement actions for offences under Regulation 44 of The Water Environment (Controlled Activities) (Scotland) Regulations 2011 |
2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | TOTAL |
Final Warning Letter | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 23 |
Statutory Notice | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
Variable Monetary Penalty | 6 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 18 |
Fixed Monetary Penalty | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
TOTAL | 15 | 13 | 11 | 6 | 45 |
- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 24 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 3 February 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many times since being appointed to the post the (a) Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands and (b) Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity has met the Coastal Communities Network Scotland where the fishing industry was part of discussions.
Answer
Myself and the Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity have not met formally with the Coastal Communities Network Scotland whilst the fishing industry were present as part of the discussion, since we were appointed to our roles in May 2024.
- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 23 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 31 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how it has worked with (a) the seafood industry and (b) other associated organisations to “better understand regional trade flows, the domestic consumption of seafood and environmental impact in order to inform future interventions”, as outlined in its 2022 document, Strategy for Seafood.
Answer
The Scottish Government’s understanding of regional trade flows in seafood is informed by a range of sources. Primary data relating to the seafood industry including fisheries, aquaculture, processing, trade, and retail statistics is either collected by the Scottish Government (for example, Scotland’s Sea Fisheries Statistics), collected by relevant UK Government Departments (for example HM Revenue & Custom’s international trade statistics or the Office for National Statistic’s Living Costs and Food Survey), or collected by industry bodies (for example Seafish’s Processing Sector Survey). Relevant HMRC datasets that are of particular relevance include the Overseas Trade Statistics (OTS) and Regional Trade Statistics (RTS) publications.
The member should also note ongoing research as part of the Scottish Government’s Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture (ENRA) 2022-27 research programme which includes a project focused on understanding Scottish food supply chains, including seafood. The project aims to develop a better understanding of seafood being produced in Scotland, what is imported and exported, and how that relates to what we eat and what we should be eating in terms of recommended amounts of seafood consumption.
These various sources all inform Scottish Government’s approach to the seafood industry and seafood trade.