Question reference: S6W-25555
- Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
- Date lodged: 14 February 2024
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Current status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 28 February 2024
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the licence conditions to fish for wild wrasse, how its Marine Directorate ensures that each vessel deploys a maximum of 250 wrasse traps at any one time.
Answer
Marine Directorate Compliance Operations use a risk-based procedure which considers intelligence, likelihood, and impact on environment and fishery resources to ensure the conditions of the wrasse derogation are adhered to. For example, wrasse fishers are required to submit weekly data returns, in addition to their FISH1 forms, which can highlight if a fisher may be using more than 250 traps a day.
Marine Directorate have recently consulted on proposals to require a tracking device on all under 12 metre fishing vessels in Scotland. The consultation responses are currently being analysed and will be published in due course and depending on the outcome of the consultation, if implemented, this could provide additional compliance monitoring of the fishery.