Chamber and committees

Following the FMAC review last year it is apparent that the structure and membership of the group was making co-management ineffective and the FMAC group has therefore been split. The new structure will still allow industry, environmental and other groups to contribute to policy development and delivery, and the different groups can engage together on an ad-hoc basis as needed to exchange views. This will still enable co-management to take place and will help different groups to engage productively, even though not all voices will be in the same room.

Assessing fisheries stock health and management is a complex issue and there are many metrics against which sustainability can be evaluated. The sustainability reports published by the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture (CEFAS) cover stocks across the UK. However, the most relevant evaluation for fish stocks within Scottish waters is the Sustainable Fishing Indicator (SFI), which is published by the Scottish Government as part of the National Performance Framework.

Whilst the Cefas report covers all UK waters, the SFI is specific to the sustainability status of commercial fish and shellfish stocks present in Scottish waters. Additionally, while both reports take into account stock biomass, they consider fisheries management in different ways. The Cefas report defines a complex list of management criteria, and stocks must pass all of these in order to be considered sustainable. The SFI looks at actual fishing pressure, and instead of using a pass/fail approach, it provides a sliding scale for how sustainable fishing levels are in the real world. We consider this to be best way to assess how sustainable fishing is in reality in Scotland.

The SFI shows that the sustainability status of stocks in Scottish waters has increased through time, from 39% in 1995 to 73% in 2023. This positive trend is reflective of improved fisheries management and more responsible fishing practices, and is particularly notable during a period when warming in Scottish waters might be expected to be reducing stocks.

It is important to work within environmental limits, managing sustainably to support future generations and safeguarding the diversity of the marine ecosystem. The Scottish Government takes this responsibility seriously, and our approach to fisheries management is underpinned by the best available scientific information.

This is an important principle when it comes to setting annual catch limits for fish stocks. These are agreed with Coastal State partners through a series of annual negotiations, with the Scottish Government playing an active part in the UK delegation. Throughout the negotiations, Scotland fully supports following the scientific advice and setting fishing opportunities that are consistent with the Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) approach wherever appropriate. However, setting an MSY-based catch limit is not always possible, and it is sometimes more appropriate, for the stock and for fishing industries, to set a TAC above or below the headline scientific advice.

For both 2024 and 2025, catch limits for 33 out of the 41 key Scottish stocks were set at or below the headline scientific advice and/or the MSY level. Scientists from Scotland and from our neighbouring Coastal States provided advice to managers throughout the negotiations, and the best available evidence was used as the basis for decisions.

There are no plans to review Scotland’s Fisheries Management Strategy before the end of the current parliamentary session. This is a ten year strategy and most of its actions relate to the ongoing delivery of our management functions. The progress being made with these is in the updated Scotland's Fisheries Management Strategy 2020-2030 Delivery Plan which was published on 20 March 2025.

The delivery plan is a live document and it will continue to be updated as progress is being made.

Firstly, the landing obligation was fully implemented in Scotland on 1 January 2019. Prior to this date, the landing obligation was phased in gradually, starting with pelagic fisheries in 2015 and extending to demersal fisheries in 2016, with the final phase bringing all Total Allowable Catch (TAC) species under the obligation, except those that are exempt via de minimis or survivability exemptions.

In relation to the allocation of fish quota, the Scottish Government has taken action to promote the use of selective fishing gear and therefore help reduce discards. For 2025, the Scottish Government is primarily allocating a portion of West of Scotland cod following an application process which places the use of selective fishing gear and/or fishing methods associated with a lower environmental impact at its core. The Scottish Government has also acted to allocate a greater share of quota to the 10 metre and under non-sector fleet. This grouping of vessels (which are more limited in the time they can spend at sea and the distance they can travel than larger vessels) is associated with the use of more selective fishing gear (such as the use of handlines).

The Future Catching Policy workshops were completed in autumn last year, with a combination of industry and eNGO input across all fleet segments. The proposals for future technical measures are being finalised and further engagement with stakeholders will take place this year prior to the formal consultation.

On REM, it is our position that the use of REM will have a positive impact on illegal discarding, providing a strong deterrent and an effective monitoring tool. That is one of the reasons why we are deploying it on pelagic fishing vessels and will roll-out further in the future.

Finally, we are committed to reviewing the current penalties regime as part of our Fisheries Management Strategy and will consider the role of fines as part of that.

Scotland’s Fisheries Management Strategy 2020-2030 Delivery Plan update was published on 20 March 2025 and can be accessed via this link: Scotland's Fisheries Management Strategy 2020-2030 Delivery Plan.

The Scottish Government has yet to make a decision whether to attend the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4) in Seville, Spain between 30 June and 3 July 2025. Scotland recognises the importance of international cooperation and collaboration to drive progress towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly in the current geopolitical environment. As a government we continue to scope for opportunities to increase the strength and reach of our advocacy on emerging global challenges and contribute to the fight against poverty, injustice and inequality internationally, including at key upcoming international events.

Scotland aims to maintain strong leadership in our commitment to good global citizenship and our solidarity with communities acutely affected by climate disasters, disease and conflict around the world through its International Development and Climate Justice programmes, as evidenced by the maintenance of existing commitments in the current Programme for Government.

Technical workshops on the Future Catching Policy were completed in autumn last year, with a combination of industry and eNGO input across all fleet segments. The proposals for future technical measures are being finalised and further engagement with stakeholders will take place prior to the formal consultation later this year.

To date, the total spend on the pilot scheme, inclusive of transcription and redaction costs, is £132,898.93 as at 31 March 2025.

To note, this does not include the cost of applications which are waiting to be processed or awaiting redaction.

Throughout engagement with COSLA, councils and opposition parties ahead of the 2025-26 Scottish Budget, there was a clear consensus that councils should have full flexibility for decisions on Council Tax rates. The Scottish Budget delivered that ask in full, as part of a record Local Government Settlement worth over £15 billion including real terms protection of General Revenue Grant, another key ask of COSLA and opposition parties.

There is no statutory deadline to apply for the 40% relief that is available in 2025-26 for hospitality premises liable for the Basic Property Rate in mainland Scotland (excluding specified remote areas), capped at £110,000 per business.