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Inshore Fisheries (Management) (PE1386)
Agenda item 3 is on petition PE1386, by Richard Munday, on behalf of the Torridon nephrops management group, on inshore fisheries management. I refer members to paper RACCE/S4/12/19/2. I invite comments from members on the way forward with the petition.
I was interested to read the note that the clerks have helpfully prepared and the submission from Dr Andrea Nightingale. She could not attend our round-table discussion on the issue, but she raises a number of interesting points. Taking into account those points and the points that were made at the excellent round-table session, I do not think that the issue is over and that we can simply close the petition. I suggest that we keep the petition open while we write to Marine Scotland to seek its response on the various important issues that were raised at the round-table session. We can then consider the response in forthcoming meetings and discussions.
As I have just joined the committee, the issue is new to me, but I have sympathy with the petition, given that I have seen at first hand in the Western Isles the damage that can be done to the sea bed in inshore waters from towed gear. The petition should certainly be continued.
I agree with those suggestions, partly because of the arguments that Dr Andrea Nightingale has made. Her submission states that she has received evidence from Skye and other places, and not just from the petitioners. The committee will soon deal with marine protected areas and the national marine plan. I see the issue in the broader context of concerns about inshore fisheries and how they fit into a sustainable coastal approach. In view of those issues, I am keen to keep the petition open and to see it in a broader context.
I have to declare a constituency interest, in a sense. The remarks that have been made allow us to keep the dialogue going. It is suggested that we keep the petition open and seek a further response from Marine Scotland. Do members agree with that recommendation?
Before I close the meeting, I remind members that the committee’s next meeting is on 26 September, when we will take evidence from the woodland expansion advisory group and the land reform review group.
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