Celebrating the Ocean's Seat on the Scottish Association for Marine Science Board

That the Parliament celebrates the decision by the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS), based in Oban, to elect the ocean to its Board of Trustees, represented by SAMS Trustee, Helen Mitcheson, an environmental lawyer with a background in marine mammal science, who was selected by open competition; welcomes the leadership shown by SAMS director, professor Nick Owens, in championing this model; notes reports that the idea has taken root among SAMS staff who now ask "what would the ocean think about this?" in their own meetings and conversations; considers that formally representing the ocean's interests in decision-making offers a meaningful example of moving beyond anthropocentric governance; recognises SAMS' 140-year history as one of the world's oldest oceanographic institutions and its ongoing contribution to marine science in the Highlands and Islands and globally, and hopes that this innovative approach to governance will inspire other organisations, both in Scotland and beyond, to find ways of giving the natural world a genuine say in the decisions that affect it.