Chamber and committees

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.

In total, the consultation on fisheries management measures within Scottish offshore Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) received 3,881 valid responses. The majority of these response came from campaigns from two organisations.

Of those who responded specifically to the question on full site management measures, 97% were in support and 3% were opposed.

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

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.

Myself and the Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity have not met formally with the Anglo Scottish Fishermen’s Association since we were appointed to our roles.

Scotland’s first National Marine Plan (NMP) was adopted in 2015 and provides the guiding framework for sustainable management of marine activities and resources. In October 2022, Ministers announced the intention to update the NMP to better support our transition to net zero and tackling the nature and climate crisis through marine planning.

The timeline for the National Marine Plan 2 (NMP2) is published in the statement of public participation. The draft NMP2 is scheduled for consultation in late 2025 with plan adoption anticipated in 2027.

Myself and the Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity have not met formally with the Coastal Communities Network Scotland whilst the fishing industry were present as part of the discussion, since we were appointed to our roles in May 2024.

The Salmon (Fish Passes and Screens) (Scotland) Regulations 1994 were revoked in 2013. Therefore, there have been no prosecutions for offences under these regulations since 2021.

The Salmon (Fish Passes and Screens) (Scotland) Regulations 1994 were revoked in 2013 and regulation of activities affecting the water environment, including barriers to salmon migration, is now done under the Water Environment (Controlled Activities) (Scotland) Regulations 2011. This framework allows for a broader suite of enforcement options compared with the Salmon (Fish Passes and Screens) (Scotland) Regulations 1994, which only allowed prosecutions.

Myself and the Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity have not met formally with Stop Climate Chaos Scotland whilst the fishing industry were present as part of the discussion, since we were appointed to our roles in May 2024.

During the development of the climate change plan and update there was extensive engagement across all sectors and a public consultation on the draft plan was open for everyone to provide comment. The consultation ran from 16 December 2020 to 31 March 2021.

We considered all available evidence and advice at the time in the development of the Climate Change Plan Update and will do so again in the development of the next Plan, in line with our commitment to a just and fair transition to Net Zero.

Fishing can be a challenging and unpredictable livelihood, and we recognise the importance of supporting our fishing communities.

No specific support has been targeted at fishers' families or partners, however, we have continued to make funding available through our Marine Fund Scotland (MFS) to support young fishers and to secure the long-term viability of the industry and provide resilience for the workforce. Between 2021 -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). We have provided support of £5 million in 2020-21 and 2021-22 to help the farming, fishing, food and drink sector recover from Brexit and COVID-19.