Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government has made changes to management proposals in response to views expressed through the public consultation. The sites with the greatest change are Loch Sunart to Sound of Jura MPA, Small Isles MPA, South Arran MPA, and Wester Ross MPA. draft marine conservation orders for these 4 MPAs were published on 11 June 2015. Representations on these draft orders were invited by no later than 9 August 2015. This period provided an additional consultative period for stakeholder views on the revised proposals to be submitted. These will be taken into account before the new orders are laid in the Scottish Parliament.

The proposed measures have been designed to allow fishing activities to continue as much as possible within the marine protected areas. The scale of the measures varies depending on the potential level of impact that an activity could have on the protected habitats and species.

The closure of broad bay was not to manage scallop fishing or protect scallop habitats. Broad bay was an important spawning and nursery ground for flatfish species, in particular the European plaice (pleuronectes platessa). The prohibition of mobile gear was implemented in an attempt to protect these grounds and increase plaice abundance. Marine Scotland have not carried out a dedicated survey to study scallop or fish population abundances and distribution within the bay. Following requests from stakeholders, six tows with broad bay were added onto the 2007 west coast scallop dredge survey. The results of these isolated observations indicated low scallop abundance. However assumptions regarding the population dynamics of scallops, or any other fish species, in broad bay cannot be drawn from these results.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-26569 on 20 August 2015. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at; http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

The Scottish Government provided estimates of economic impact in a set of business and regulatory impact assessments (BRIAs) and an updated set were published on 11 June 2015, taking account of the proposed management measures in the draft marine conservation orders. These follow established best-practice, drawing from the report ‘Planning Scotland’s Seas: The Scottish Marine Protected Area Project – Developing the Evidence Base for Impact Assessments and the Sustainability Appraisal: Final Report’. The overall methodology was informed by the input from a project advisory group which included national representatives of potentially affected marine industries and other national and strategic stakeholders. The Scottish Government has requested representations on the draft marine conservation orders, including on the estimates of economic impact, by 9 August 2015.

Scottish natural heritage (SNH) provided scientific advice relating to the impacts of activities on the protected marine features at each site. Advice specific to the summer isles was published in 2014 and can be seen from p25 onwards in the following document:

http://www.snh.org.uk/pdfs/publications/commissioned_reports/764.pdf

This topic was also discussed at the North West stakeholder workshop in October 2014 where it was stated by SNH representatives that it was likely that a depth restriction of at least 30m would be required, which is in excess of the voluntary arrangement. The note of that workshop can be found at:

http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0047/00475618.docx

The proposals are consistent with the national marine plan. The marine protected areas with the most significant mobile fishing gear activity all have a zonal management arrangement proposed to minimise disruption as far as possible. There has been considerable discussion about how these areas are used with the fishing industry over the last 2 years in particular.

AG Barr is a member of the Packaging Recycling Group Scotland (PRGS) and a number of meetings have taken place with PRGS and AG Barr in recent months on deposit return systems and related issues.

I commissioned a study from Zero Waste Scotland to explore the feasibility of introducing a national deposit return system in Scotland. Following publication of this study, a call for evidence sought further information. At this stage, no particular model or system has been proposed by the Scottish Government, and we will consider further any issues raised during the call for evidence.

The Scottish Government provides ongoing support to the food and drink sector on recycling through the Resource Efficient Scotland programme, providing a ‘one stop shop’ to discuss material, energy and water efficiency. The support includes assistance for individual companies, working with trade associations on sector-wide issues and supporting UK-wide voluntary agreements such as the Courtauld Commitment and Hospitality and Food Service Agreement. The Scottish Government also has ongoing discussions with the Packaging Recycling Group Scotland on measures to improve recycling and tackle litter, including in relation to the proposed household recycling charter.