Chamber and committees

The Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Land Reform last met the FONE group on 14 March 2024 and I met the FONE group on 12 September 2024.

In addition, both the Cabinet Secretary and I regularly meet with the FONE chair and members on a number of occasions, including the following dates in 2024: 5 April 2024, 18 April 2024, 20 June 2024, 28 August 2024 and 7 November 2024.

The Scottish Government has committed £10m over 2023–2025 to support delivery of Scotland's food and drink strategy, Sustaining Scotland, Supplying the World. This funding facilitates a range of activities and direct engagement with grocery retailers to help increase the volume of Scottish food and drink on retail shelves, including Scottish seafood. Activity includes: hosting regional Sourcing Scotland Meet The Buyer events to connect retailers and producers; participating in various sales exhibitions; placing graduates within retail and wholesale buying teams to drive sales; and working with the Scottish Wholesale Association and Scottish Grocers’ Federation to increase sales through wholesale and convenience channels.

Furthermore, the Scottish Government is providing Marine Fund Scotland funding towards Seafood Scotland’s Market Development Project, which involves work to ensure Scottish seafood’s profile grows in UK markets. This includes specific activity with various stakeholders throughout the supply chain to look at ways of increasing the amount of Scottish seafood within retail settings.

Marine Directorate Marine Protection and Research vessels range in age from between seventeen and twenty-seven years old. A zero and 'low carbon' fuel is generally associated with zero or low emissions at point of combustion onboard a vessel. Low emission fuels being explored by the shipping industry and its regulators include Ammonia, Methanol, Biofuel and Hydrogen. Each of the Scottish Governments (a) marine protection vessels, and (b) marine research vessels are fuelled with Marine Gas Oil (MGO), but low carbon fuelling options will be a key factor in any vessel replacement moving forward to meet emissions regulations and targets.

Geographical indications are a reserved matter. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is the competent authority for the geographical indication schemes in the UK.

To ensure compliance with product specifications for protected geographical indications, regular inspections are carried out by control bodies, such as local authorities or UKAS-accredited organisations.

The last Scottish Fishing Safety Group (SFSG) meeting was held on 17 December 2024. There is no date for the next meeting at this time.

The Marine Directorate owns/operates a fleet of three Marine Protection Vessels (MPVs), and two small inshore craft.

• MPV Minna since 2003 (42 metres in length)
• MPV Jura since 2006 (84 metres in length)
• MPV Hirta since 2008 (84 metres in length)
• Small craft Ailsa and Iona since 2022 (7.8 metres in length)

Marine Directorate owns two surveillance aircraft, Reims Cessna Caravan II F-406 (Watchdog Alpha and Watchdog Bravo) since 2008.

https://www.gov.scot/publications/marine-and-fisheries-compliance-fleet-and-aircraft/

Scotland’s Future Catching Policy (FCP) will see concrete action taken to support fishers to avoid catching fish and other species which they don’t want to land, or catch in the first place, including decreasing instances of accidental bycatch of protected marine species.

The FCP proposes to introduce a range of technical and spatial measures, designed in partnership, which will reduce levels of unwanted. This might mean, for example, some types of fishing vessel requiring to use additional selectivity measures as part of their nets, or to move on from certain fishing grounds. The purpose of this is to reduce levels of unwanted catch as far as possible, with discarding rules and exemptions following any measures that are put in place to account for discards that will still occur due to the mixed fishery nature of Scottish waters but will enable us to account for these in a more robust manner increasing accountability and transparency.

By introducing these measures through legislation we are ensuring a level playing field in Scottish waters for all fishers regardless of origin.

The Scottish Government continues to engage with the UK Government on the designation of food and drink products as geographical indications through its status as a constituent member of the UK GI scheme panel.

The operation of the UK GI schemes is reserved and is run by The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), where all applications are submitted directly to them for consideration. It is for producers themselves to apply for protection under these schemes, and the Scottish Government seeks to support and promote applications from Scotland.

The final decisions on whether to grant a GI are made by the Secretary of State. However, a panel made up of representatives from Defra and the devolved administrations reviews all applications (including third country applications) and makes a collective decision as to whether they should proceed to the Secretary of State for consideration.

Commercial sea fishing is one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. We need to do all we can to make fishing as safe as possible, and encourage more people to see fishing as a desirable career, which will help to ensure the sustainability of the industry in the long term. The Scottish Fishing Safety Group, established in May 2019 aims to do just that. This industry led group works alongside established safety bodies such as the Marine and Coastguard Agency (MCA) and the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) - on how we can improve health, safety and wellbeing on Scottish vessels. The group supports fishing industry efforts to achieve zero deaths annually and the reduction in accidents across the whole Scottish fishing industry.

Permanent FONE Group Membership