Subordinate Legislation
Town and Country Planning (Marine Fish Farming) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2012 (SSI 2012/259)
Plant Health (Scotland) Amendment Order 2012 (SSI 2012/266)
Under agenda item 3, the committee will consider two negative instruments. No motion to annul the instruments has been lodged. I refer members to the relevant papers. Does the committee agree that we do not wish to make any recommendations in relation to the instruments?
Members indicated agreement.
Fishing Boats (Satellite-tracking Devices) (Scotland) Scheme 2012 (SSI 2012/264)
Under agenda item 4, members will take evidence from the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment on the Fishing Boats (Satellite-tracking Devices) (Scotland) Scheme 2012. The instrument is subject to approval, which means that the Parliament must approve it for it to remain in force. Following the evidence session, the committee will be invited to consider a motion to recommend approval of the instrument, under agenda item 5.
It is with great pleasure that I welcome the cabinet secretary, Richard Lochhead, who is accompanied by Allan Gibb, head of sea fisheries operations with the Scottish Government. I ask the cabinet secretary to speak to the instrument.
Good morning and thank you for inviting me to appear before the committee. I begin by adding my warm welcome to Nigel Don. I look forward to working with him and the rest of the committee in the times ahead. I pay tribute and give thanks to Annabelle Ewing, who was an active member of the committee. Of course, I also congratulate Graeme Dey on his appointment as deputy convener, and I wish Clare O’Neill all the best for the future, too.
The Fishing Boats (Satellite-tracking Devices) (Scotland) Scheme 2012 allows Marine Scotland to provide skippers with 100 per cent grant assistance towards the cost of installing vessel monitoring systems. A new legal requirement is set out in article 9(2) of Council regulation 1224/2009, or the control regulation, as it is more commonly known. Vessels of more than 15m have been using VMS since 2004. Article 9(2) extends the provision to vessels of more than 12m, along with a provision on electronic logbooks.
For members who are not familiar with fishing vessels, VMS devices transmit a position report to the fisheries authorities every two hours, which allows the authorities to determine where the vessel has been operating. The devices, which are tamper-proof, sit on board the vessel and skippers are not required to do anything other than check that they are functioning prior to departure. The data from VMS transmissions is vital for our fisheries control obligations and wider fisheries management responsibilities. It allows Marine Scotland to crosscheck catch data against vessel movement. It also allows us to enforce protected areas and can be used to determine time spent at sea.
The VMS data has been central to supporting the development of policy on establishing track records for vessels and the development of conservation schemes such as real-time closures. We are pursuing the project jointly with the other United Kingdom fisheries administrations, and similar grant schemes have been approved throughout the UK.
The obligation came into force across the European Union from 1 January. However, because the UK was required to retender the VMS infrastructure contract that supplies the VMS devices for the over-15m fleet, its extension to 12m to 15m vessels has been delayed to align with the procurement processes. The European Commission is aware of the UK delay, and we have continued to keep it informed of our plans.
To help vessels to comply with the new requirement and to mitigate the financial impact on skippers, the Scottish Government applied to the new EU new technologies fund for up to 90 per cent of the costs. Over the piece, the overall cost of implementation will amount to £128,000, and Marine Scotland will meet the 10 per cent member state contribution this financial year for all those vessels that choose to apply.
The contract to supply the devices has been awarded, although no formal announcements have been made yet. Unlike our approach to electronic logbooks, there is one approved UK supplier for the devices. Following the committee’s recommendation today and the approval of the instrument, we will write to the industry in the next month or so to outline the process for grant aid and installation. The industry will welcome the grant assistance that is being provided. The Government met the cost of the devices and the warranty when the programme applied to the over-15m fleet, and I feel that it is only appropriate that we provide financial assistance to smaller vessels.
The instrument allows Marine Scotland to provide financial assistance to skippers in meeting a new EU obligation largely using EU funds. Marine Scotland will work closely with the device supplier and skippers on implementation to ensure that it takes place as smoothly as possible.
That is the background to the instrument. I hope that I have explained it clearly. I trust that the industry will welcome this assistance and hope that the committee does, too. I am happy to take questions.
Thank you, cabinet secretary. Do members have any questions?
Good morning, cabinet secretary. I have a practical question. I understand that the units have a shelf life of five to seven years. What is the financial position once they reach the end of their useful life? Is it up to the vessels to replace them at their own cost? Do we know what the situation will be in five to seven years’ time?
I cannot pre-empt the decisions of future Governments and the budgets that might be available to them, but I expect that the industry will have to pay for the devices several years down the line.
Is that the case for the larger vessels that have already been fitted with the devices?
I think that they have all paid for their own devices. I am trying to work out the timescale. The devices were first introduced in 2004, so they will have paid for their own replacements.
That is fine. I just wanted to know that. Thank you.
Does Margaret McDougall want to ask a question?
It was the same question.
There are no further questions, so I thank the cabinet secretary for that.
We move to agenda item 5, which is consideration of motion S4M-04544. The committee is asked to recommend approval of the Fishing Boats (Satellite-tracking Devices) (Scotland) Scheme 2012. The cabinet secretary will move the motion, and a debate can take place if required.
Motion moved,
That the Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment Committee recommends that the Fishing Boats (Satellite-tracking Devices) (Scotland) Scheme 2012 be approved.—[Richard Lochhead.]
Motion agreed to.
The committee’s decision will be confirmed in our report.