- 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 30 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish its updated Sectoral Marine Plan for Offshore Wind Energy.
Answer
The Scottish Government is working at pace to publish an updated Sectoral Marine Plan for Offshore Wind Energy in 2025. We will commence consultation on a draft updated Plan in Spring 2025 and finalise the draft Plan in Autumn 2025 with adoption and publication following as soon as possible thereafter.
- 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 30 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) successful and (b) unsuccessful applications there have been each year for Marine Scotland Fund payments, broken down by applicant type.
Answer
Many applications do not proceed to assessment due to them either being withdrawn by the applicant or because they are identified as ineligible. No data is held on the numbers or types of these applications.
Of those eligible applications which are fully assessed the breakdown is in the following tables;
a) Successful applications
| | 2021-2022 | 2022-2023 | 2023-2024 | 2024-2025 | Totals |
Aquaculture | 10 | 5 | 9 | 13 | 37 |
Environment | 3 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 33 |
Marketing | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 10 |
Seafood processing | 19 | 18 | 19 | 10 | 66 |
Sea fisheries | 80 | 24 | 42 | 9 | 155 |
Research & Innovation | 6 | 4 | 11 | 16 | 37 |
Total | 120 | 60 | 91 | 67 | |
b) Unsuccessful applications
| | 2021-2022 | 2022-2023 | 2023-2024 | 2024-2025 | Totals |
Aquaculture | 0 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 12 |
Environment | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Marketing | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
Seafood Processing | 1 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 16 |
Sea Fisheries | 9 | 18 | 23 | 21 | 71 |
Research & Innovation | 1 | 0 | 7 | 4 | 12 |
Total | 11 | | 44 | 39 | |
- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 January 2025
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 5 February 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it will take to monitor the impact of the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Act 2024 on small- and medium-sized businesses in the local authority areas that apply it.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 5 February 2025
- 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 29 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what statistical evidence it uses to underpin the continued application of the Sea Fish (Prohibition on Fishing) (Firth of Clyde) Order 2024.
Answer
The Clyde closure is in place to maximise the opportunity for cod to reproduce and hence recover the stock. The closed area was defined according to extensive published literature on the types of seabed substrate on which cod prefer to spawn, and data on substrate type distribution provided by the British Geological Survey (BGS). This information has not changed since the closure was put in place.
When the Sea Fish (Prohibition on Fishing) (Firth of Clyde) Order 2024 was made, it was accompanied by a Business Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA).
Following the 2025 closure there will be a public consultation on future management. That consultation will assess any changes that have happened since 2022 and make recommendations for the future on that basis.
- 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 29 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Shetland Fisherment's 2024 report, Trends in the Abundances of North Sea Fish.
Answer
The Marine Directorate is aware of this report and recognises its findings. The conclusions of the paper are very similar to those presented annually in the Scottish Sustainable Fishing Index (SFI, Sustainability of Fish Stocks | National Performance Framework).
The SFI has increased from 37% in 1992 to 71% in 2023, highlighting an overall improvement in Scottish commercial fish stocks that is very similar to that presented in the Shetland Fishermen’s report.
Marine Directorate scientists would however recommend interpreting this report with some caution due to methodological issues which depart from the normal way in which stocks are assessed by the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES) and on which basis international advice is derived for international negotiations and setting of total allowable catches.
- 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 29 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what surveys of Scotland-based fishermen it has carried out since 1 January 2021 regarding their views on the EU Common Fisheries Policy, and what the outcome was.
Answer
The Scottish Government has not carried out a survey, since 1 January 2021, of Scotland-based fishers which specifically asked about their views on the EU Common Fisheries Policy. However, officials engage with Scottish fishers regularly on a range of matters, including through our main fisheries co-management stakeholder group, FMAC.
The Scottish Government also collects views from Scotland-based fishers and other stakeholders via other means. This includes research projects as part of evaluations for specific programmes or policies. In the past year, this has included surveying fishers and other stakeholders regarding current compliance mechanisms and Quota Management Groups. Both projects raised issues related to the EU Common Fisheries Policy and both projects are due to be published this year.
- 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 29 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what impact the proposed reduction in its 2025-26 draft Budget for the Marine Directorate from £83 million in 2024-25 to £79.6 million in 2025-26 will have on its ability to operate effectively.
Answer
The 2024-25 budget that was used as the comparator included a number of transfers that occurred at Autumn Budget Revision. The main transfer related to the inclusion of deferred Coastal Communities payments from 2023-24, this was a one-off occurrence which resulted in a net increase of £5 million from the 2024-25 starting budget position.
In comparison to the 2024-25 starting budget there has been a £1.6 million increase in the overall resource budget available to Marine Directorate in 2025-26 which when excluding depreciation is an additional £2 million of resource funding.
- 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 29 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government in what ways it supports the fishing industry to (a) monitor and (b) tackle gear conflict.
Answer
Through our network of 18 Coastal Offices, as well as the Regional Inshore Fisheries Group (RIFG) network, the Scottish Government encourages the fishing industry to work together and develop voluntary codes of conduct to reduce instances of gear conflict.
In situations resulting in loss or damage to gear, Police Scotland are the competent authority out to 12 nautical miles. Beyond that, responsibility lies with the Marine Coastguard Agency.
Our Coastal Offices operate a reporting mechanism for reporting gear loss. The aim of this is to utilise the available evidence to determine which vessels were active in the area and to establish contact, assisting those involved in arriving at an amicable outcome. It also ensures the necessary information is available, should Police Scotland require to be involved.
- 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 29 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to update its approach to dealing with gear conflict, in light of the last Marine Scotland report of the Task Force on Gear Conflict being published in 2015.
Answer
In June 2020 the Scottish Government built on the findings of the Task Force on Gear Conflict by introducing the Marking of Gear (Scotland) Order 168/2020. This order introduced restrictions on how buoys should be used to mark static gear, aimed at reducing gear conflict by making it easier to identify the owner of lost or displaced gear. This order requires that all creels and fleets of creels to be marked with a buoy manufactured for that purpose and that all buoys be of a bright colour and bear the registration number of the fishing vessel that deployed it.
As part of a pragmatic approach to gear conflict, Marine Directorate provides ongoing support where appropriate, encouraging fishers to work together to resolve difficulties locally and where possible, support local voluntary codes of conduct. In addition, our Coastal Offices operate a reporting mechanism for reporting gear loss. The aim of this is to utilise the available evidence to determine which vessels were active in the area and to establish contact, assisting those involved in arriving at an amicable outcome. It also ensures the necessary information is available, should Police Scotland require to be involved.
- 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 29 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government in what ways it feeds the views of the Regional Inshore Fisheries Groups into fisheries policy-making.
Answer
Our six national RIFG Chairs regularly meet both with fishing industry stakeholders throughout their respective areas, as well as Marine Directorate officials. Outputs of these meetings help ensure that the views of Scotland’s small fishing businesses, particularly those who do not have formal representation, are heard and incorporated into policy development.
A recent example of this relationship is Marine Directorate implementation of Interim Measures for protection of under-pressure crab and lobster stocks during 2024. The RIFG network took a lead role during an intense, month-long consultation period which involved engagement with over 400 fishers. These views were collated and helped inform policy advice on the use of short-term Interim Measures ahead of the 2024 fishing season.
