Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government is supporting early adopters of new technology to deliver on emission targets and we have provided over £500,000 Marine Fund Scotland (MFS) support since 2021 for individual projects contributing to fuel efficiencies. Of this, over £43,000 was for vessels to convert to electric power and over £42,000 to explore options for larger vessels.

As we progress towards identifying solutions to support Net Zero targets, many of the actions that are required will need to be developed and initiated by the fishing industry and others in the private sector. Regulators and policy makers also need to identify and remove barriers where this is possible.

Tackling inequality is a top priority for Scottish Ministers and this is evident across much of the Scottish Government’s work.

The goal of the Women in Scottish Fisheries report was to challenge and raise women’s profile, but we recognise that the views on equality and fair employment in fishing communities remain complex with many women taking on significant but informal or unpaid roles.

We have continued to make funding available through our Marine Fund Scotland (MFS) to support young fishers to enter the fishing industry and to secure the resilience and long-term viability of the industry. Between 2021 and 2024 MFS has awarded 37 young fishers over £2.5 million in grants to enable them to purchase their first fishing vessel (or a share in a vessel).

Scotland's Fisheries Management Strategy 2020-2030 seeks to recognise the important role that all parts of society make to the fishing industry, and to promote involvement across all genders and equalities groups in a positive and inclusive way.

We would be happy to work with the industry to shape the policy outcomes which contribute to better outcomes for women working in the sector.

We carried out a survey from 1 August to 6 September 2024 to ask the Fisheries Management and Conservation (FMAC) group members, and some wider stakeholders, their views on the current functioning and effectiveness of the group. A summary of responses alongside confirmation of any changes we will make, will be published in due course.

Of those who responded specifically to the question on zonal management measures, 66% were in support and 25% were opposed (with the remaining 9% being neutral).

The full consultation analysis report was published on 31 January and can be found on the Scottish Government website.

Marine and aerial taskings are determined by a rigorous risk assessment process, using live data and intelligence to prioritise the areas where assets are directed.

In 2024 our three patrol ships carried out 866 patrol days, and our two-surveillance aircraft undertook 165 flights, it is therefore not possible to describe the routes taken other than to state they include Rockall, Shetland, the West Coast and North Sea.

A copy of a document detailing heat maps showing patrol areas for each year has been provided to the Scottish Parliaments Information Centre (Bib number is 65620)

The Scottish Government is aware of the importance of engaging with under represented groups across the fishing industry. Where research is conducted, this is designed with the aim of trying to include those who are less well engaged.

The Scottish Government does not have the powers to prosecute Marine and Fisheries offences, these powers lie with the Crown Office Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) who prosecute on our behalf. This is a technical point.

The 1967 Act is a parent act under which orders were made, it is therefore more likely that any offence would be taken against a subordinate order rather than the act itself. Other acts have also superseded the 1967 Act, such as the Fisheries Act 2020, which is where licensing powers comes from. Any licence breaches are therefore pursued under the 2020 Act.

Additionally, the Scottish Government has powers to issue Fixed Penalty Notices (FPN) in lieu of reporting cases to the COPFS. Most cases where a penalty was deemed appropriate were dealt with in this way. Details of FPNs are published, link Reporting statistics from marine and fisheries compliance - gov.scot

Table detailing cases prosecuted under the 1967 Act or subordinate orders.

The Scottish Government is currently supporting a UK Government Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs project on “Co-designing an Evaluation Framework for Recruitment and Retention of Domestic Seafood Workers”. This project includes a survey and focus groups with people working in fishing, processing and aquaculture across the UK, including Scotland. The project will seek to explore questions related to barriers and opportunities for new entrants and across different project stages.

We acknowledge that there is an overall lack of data and evidence on women in fisheries for a number of reasons, and we agree that steps are needed to improve this. This is an important issue and many of these gaps will need to be filled in collaboration with the industry and the wider research communities.