Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S6W-41726

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 13 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the Scottish Sea Fisheries Statistics for 2024, what its response is to reported collapsing stocks of (a) Northern Shelf cod, (b) mackerel and (c) other North Sea fish.

The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) advice is challenging for a number of our key stocks this year across the Northeast Atlantic, not least the iconic stocks of cod and mackerel. There are many factors that may be contributing to this, such as natural mortality, climate impacts and low recruitment across the North East Atlantic.

North Sea cod is not collapsing. The ICES advice shows a stark picture of the health of the southern substock, and this is primarily what is driving down the overall advice. The immediate priority must be the implementation of spatial management measures that restrict potential catches of that southern stock. We already have significant measures in place in Scottish waters and we are reviewing these to see what, if any, improvements can be made.

The advice for mackerel is unprecedented, well below anything we have seen on the ICES advice sheetsat least since 1987. Scotland continues to work with the UK Government and our Coastal State neighbours to agree a comprehensive sharing arrangement. ICES advice clearly demonstrates the importance of the interim steps taken by the UK, Norway and the Faroe Islands, whose agreement immediately reduced the total outtake of the stock, representing a step towards more sustainable fishing, whilst the wider sharing discussions continue.

Our stocks are jointly managed with the fishing nations around us, with negotiations currently ongoing. It is important that we continue to work together to balance sustainably managed fish stocks and a sustainable and prosperous industry and coastal communities. Whilst there is some challenging advice there are also many stocks where the picture remains more positive and the overall trend is good. The Scottish Sustainable Fishing Indicator (SFI), which summarises the sustainability status of commercial fish and shellfish stocks in Scottish waters, shows that the sustainability status of stocks in Scottish waters has increased through time, from 39% in 1995 to 73% in 2023.

Question reference: S6W-41725

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 13 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the Scottish Sea Fisheries Statistics for 2024, what its response is to the reported decline in the number of (a) fishers and (b) fishing boats operating in the Scottish fishing sector.

The 2024 Scottish Sea Fisheries Statistics show that the number of active Scottish fishing vessels was 1,998, a modest decrease of 8 vessels compared to 2023. The fleet remains dominated by vessels under 10 metres in length, which have increased by five per cent since 2015, while the number of larger vessels over 10 metres has declined by 16 per cent over the same period.

In terms of employment, 3,735 fishers were working on Scottish vessels in 2024, down 48 compared to 2023. This continues a longer-term trend, with changes reflecting a range of factors including access to labour, technological advances and market conditions.

Despite this consolidation, the sector’s overall performance remains strong. In 2024, Scottish vessels landed 561 thousand tonnes of sea fish and shellfish worth £756 million — the highest value and tonnage recorded in the past ten years.

The Scottish Government remains committed to working with industry, coastal communities and stakeholders to ensure a sustainable and thriving future for Scotland’s fisheries.

Question reference: S6W-41823

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 November 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 25 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding Scotland’s fishing sector, how it plans to support sustainable (a) economic growth, (b) development and (c) fishing practices (i) in north east Scotland and (ii) across Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-41724

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 November 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 20 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to ensure that public investment is evenly distributed across (a) north east Scotland and (b) Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-41727

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S6W-41085

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 21 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, with regard to the concentration of land ownership, what action it is taking to support (a) environmental, (b) biodiversity and (c) natural processes (i) protection and (ii) restoration.

Question reference: S6W-41084

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 21 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, with regard to concentration of land ownership, what action it is taking to (a) increase adherence to the terms of the Land Rights and Responsibilities Statement, (b) protect relevant human rights and (c) support animal welfare.

Question reference: S6W-41088

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 21 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, with regard to the concentration of land ownership, what action it is taking to support a just transition to a net zero (a) energy system and (b) economy.

Question reference: S6W-41090

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 21 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, with regard to the concentration of land ownership, what action it is taking to (a) increase the number of new (i) crofts, (ii) land tenancies and (iii) agriculture tenancies and (b) improve food (i) security and (ii) system resilience.

Question reference: S6W-41086

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 21 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, with regard to the concentration of land ownership, what action it is taking to increase community (a) ownership of (i) land and (ii) energy, and (b) wealth building.