Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government is committed to the sustainability of our seas, contributing to our communities’ economy and its environment. During the summer, Marine Scotland officials will work closely with industry and NGO stakeholders to develop co-management responses to these challenges and inform our negotiating priorities and positions for this year’s end year negotiations on fishing opportunities.

We have already taken positive steps to support the recovery of the west coast cod and whiting stocks, using technical gear, spatial management and quota management solutions, coupled with smart technology to support our fishing fleet to avoid unwanted catches as far as possible. We will continue to explore management options for 2021 in partnership with our stakeholders.

Despite these measures the number of young cod entering the adult stock each year remains low, which appears to be largely related to low adult stock size. Fishing on these stocks is not the largest contributor to mortality and as such fisheries measures can only have partial impact. Recovery may also be affected by environmental conditions and seal predation which is referenced in ICES advice. The number of young whiting has shown improvement in recent years, and the prognosis for that stock is looking better.

West of Scotland cod and whiting are not targeted fisheries and are both operated as a bycatch fishery to aid recovery and we will continue with this approach for as long as is necessary.

We have made a significant contribution to the North West Waters bycatch reduction plan, and the increase in size of the square mesh panel for the Nephrops fleet in the west of Scotland will help reduce whitefish bycatch significantly. These measures are only just being implemented, in accordance with EU law, and their impact will take some time to be realised.

The Scottish industry is currently piloting a Real Time Reporting project which will help whitefish vessels to avoid areas of cod and whiting abundance and will also help us to better track areas of known aggregations.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, officials and I have met regularly with the industry to discuss both the impacts on the sector and how best to keep their workers safe. These discussions shaped and agreed the guidance in a two-way process, demonstrating the sector’s willingness to comply with the advice. We continue to discuss updates with them, to ensure that the guidance is not only providing advice on working safely as per the latest scientific information, but that it can be practically implemented by the industry. Guidance was also translated into four additional languages to ensure workers had full access to our advice on their safety.

HSE is supporting the cross-government response to the COVID-19 Pandemic to help support employers and employees continue to work safely. The Horticulture, Fruit and Vegetables sector is not currently included in spot inspections so any COVID-19 intervention with this sector will be as a result of a concern being raised with the HSE and to date there has been 2 instances of concern which were COVID-19 related, these were followed up but did not warrant a HSE inspection. Where a risk is identified in relation to the possible exposure to farm workers in Scotland, public health officials ensure that appropriate follow-up action is taken. To date there have been no confirmed outbreaks of the virus connected to any farm in the sector in Scotland.

The amendment passed by the Scottish Parliament on 17 June 2020 is specifically in relation to the use of Acoustic Deterrent Devices (ADDs) at land constituting a fish farm. Research projects are already underway to assess the use and efficacy of ADDs. This work will be expanded to complete the statutory review required by the Bill. The report will adhere to the remit given it by the Parliament and therefore will not consider the use of other non-lethal deterrents. There is, however, complimentary work on other viable non-lethal measures also being undertaken by Scottish Government.

As is normal practice, the Scottish Government will specify commencement dates for provisions of The Animals and Wildlife (Penalties, Protections and Powers) (Scotland) Act 2020, which was passed by the Scottish Parliament on 17 June 2020, through a Statutory Instrument after the Act receives Royal Assent.

The following table provides a breakdown of the number of sites using ADDs, by company, including the device model and whether it is always on, for the period October 2018 to September 2019, as reported in the most recent seal licensing applications. Furthermore, Scottish Ministers are due to report to Parliament on the use of Acoustic Deterrent Devices (ADDs) by 01 March 2021, which will include a comprehensive assessment of the usage of ADDs.

Number of fish farms by company using ADDs by type, from October 2019 to September 2020 (as reported on seal licensing applications for the period 01 February 2020 to 31 January 2021)

The consideration of planning permission for the siting of individual fish farms is a matter for local authorities who deal with each new fish farm site on its merits through the terrestrial planning process. As part of this process, advice is provided by statutory consultees (including Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Marine Scotland and Scottish Natural Heritage) and any representations from other interested parties and the general public are also considered. It is an offence under the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 to harass a seal at a designated haul-out site.

The Animals and Wildlife (Penalties, Protections and Powers) (Scotland) Bill which was passed by the Scottish Parliament on 17 June 2020 includes amendments to section 110 of the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 to remove the ability of Scottish Ministers to grant licences for the purpose of preventing serious damage to fisheries and fish farms and to protect the health and welfare of farmed fish. All other licensing provisions within section 110 remain unchanged.

Guidance on the use of the other provisions will be prepared to ensure compatibility with the US Marine Mammal Protection Act.

The Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 currently permits limited shooting of controlled numbers of individual animals under licence in order to protect the health and welfare of farmed fish or to prevent serious damage to fisheries. The number of licences issued from 2016 to now is shown in the following table.

The Scottish Government currently has no plans to revoke or vary existing seal licences.

Under Section 129 of the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010, Scottish Ministers must review and publish a report on the operation of the seal licensing regime every five years. The next report due in September 2020 will consider all aspects of the operation of the seal licensing system and include consideration of the application of non-lethal management measures.