Kevin Stewart might have some knowledge that can help us.

Before I bring in Monica Lennon, I should, for clarity, declare what I think I declared at the previous meeting on this matter, which is that I am entitled to a free bus pass. I am sure that no one else on the committee has to worry about that, but I am over 60.

On that note, I will move swiftly on to Monica Lennon.

I have a couple more questions, but Mark Ruskell also has one, so I will bring him in first.

Welcome back. Item 6 on the agenda is consideration of a further draft Scottish statutory instrument, on which the Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee has made no comment.

I welcome Gillian Martin, the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy, and her supporting officials Joel Hankinson, who is the head of Energy Act implementation in the offshore wind directorate, and David Moffat, who is a solicitor for the Scottish Government.

The instrument is laid under the affirmative procedure, which means that it cannot come into force unless the Parliament approves it. Following the evidence session, the committee will be invited to consider a motion recommending that the instrument be approved.

I remind everyone that officials can speak under this item but not in the debate that follows. Would you like to make a brief opening statement, cabinet secretary?

The deputy convener has the first question.

I stand to speak on behalf of the Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar. I thank John Mason for bringing this debate to the chamber and Scottish Environment LINK for giving me the chance to represent that wonderful fish. It would have been wrong for me not to register my interest in the debate, in the sense that I have been involved in managing salmon fisheries for nearly 50 years and have been trying to catch them for about the same amount of time.

Interestingly, Christine Grahame got the species that I was hoping to get. I do not begrudge her that, and I am very grateful to be able to support the salmon. I want to talk about it because it is one of the reasons why many people flock to Scotland. They come here not only to try to catch salmon but to engage in all the activities that Scotland offers, such as partaking in our great food and drink, enjoying our whisky and visiting the other facilities around Scotland. A huge amount of anglers come to our rivers and generate more than £100 million-worth of income for Scotland every year.

When I move into retirement at the end of this session, I hope to spend a lot more of my life involved in trying to help salmon as well as catching them. There are huge threats to the salmon population, such as climate change, whether it involves floods or drought; predation, with seals coming up the river Dee, as we heard today; and aquaculture. I will concentrate on two of those issues this evening.

The first issue that I will address is water. I believe that the Scottish Parliament will have to consider that water is becoming a diminishing resource in Scotland. Allowing abstraction from one river catchment to another, with the effect that rivers dry out, is not a good idea. For example, we are abstracting water from the Spey and putting it into the Tay and the Fort William area to generate electricity. The result is that the rivers are drying up, the stones are heating up and water temperatures are rising in the river. It is not just salmon that are dying because of that but freshwater mussels, too. At the other end of that issue, we see increased flooding over short periods. I have seen parr and smolts washed out of the river, when they should be living in the river.

I have to mention aquaculture. We need to see a huge change in aquaculture. We need pens to be removed from migration routes for salmon. We need to drive down sea lice numbers—I know that the Government is working hard on that. We also need to see a reduction in disease. The aquaculture industry must rise to those challenges.

Like other members, I encourage future MSPs to become involved in the nature champions initiative. They should not be put off if they cannot get the species that they want. They should find one that they can represent, and they should stand up and fight for it, learn all about it and do the best that they can for it in the Parliament.

18:09

I remind members of my entry in the register of members’ interests, which shows that I own a farm in Moray, which includes some trees.

For Scotland to get back on track, in every year between now and 2029, we will need to plant another 3,277 hectares over and above the Scottish Government’s target of 15,000 hectares per year that has already been set. That is roughly 7 million more trees each year. Personally, I doubt that that is achievable, which makes our net zero targets unachievable, and it will certainly not be achievable unless we have further grant aid and a reduction in bureaucracy. Will the cabinet secretary commit to driving forward the latter, which was started by Fergus Ewing five years ago?

I stand to speak on behalf of the Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar. I thank John Mason for bringing this debate to the chamber and Scottish Environment LINK for giving me the chance to represent that wonderful fish. It would have been wrong for me not to register my interest in the debate, in the sense that I have been involved in managing salmon fisheries for nearly 50 years and have been trying to catch them for about the same amount of time.

Interestingly, Christine Grahame got the species that I was hoping to get. I do not begrudge her that, and I am very grateful to be able to support the salmon. I want to talk about it because it is one of the reasons why many people flock to Scotland. They come here not only to try to catch salmon but to engage in all the activities that Scotland offers, such as partaking in our great food and drink, enjoying our whisky and visiting the other facilities around Scotland. A huge amount of anglers come to our rivers and generate more than £100 million-worth of income for Scotland every year.

When I move into retirement at the end of this session, I hope to spend a lot more of my life involved in trying to help salmon as well as catching them. There are huge threats to the salmon population, such as climate change, whether it involves floods or drought; predation, with seals coming up the river Dee, as we heard today; and aquaculture. I will concentrate on two of those issues this evening.

The first issue that I will address is water. I believe that the Scottish Parliament will have to consider that water is becoming a diminishing resource in Scotland. Allowing abstraction from one river catchment to another, with the effect that rivers dry out, is not a good idea. For example, we are abstracting water from the Spey and putting it into the Tay and the Fort William area to generate electricity. The result is that the rivers are drying up, the stones are heating up and water temperatures are rising in the river. It is not just salmon that are dying because of that but freshwater mussels, too. At the other end of that issue, we see increased flooding over short periods. I have seen parr and smolts washed out of the river, when they should be living in the river.

I have to mention aquaculture. We need to see a huge change in aquaculture. We need pens to be removed from migration routes for salmon. We need to drive down sea lice numbers—I know that the Government is working hard on that. We also need to see a reduction in disease. The aquaculture industry must rise to those challenges.

Like other members, I encourage future MSPs to become involved in the nature champions initiative. They should not be put off if they cannot get the species that they want. They should find one that they can represent, and they should stand up and fight for it, learn all about it and do the best that they can for it in the Parliament.

18:09

I remind members of my entry in the register of members’ interests, which shows that I own a farm in Moray, which includes some trees.