Question reference: S6W-10167
- Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 3 August 2022
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Current status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 24 August 2022
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what support it can provide to the Clyde 2020 Research Advisory Group to facilitate the publication of an Ecosystem Enhancement Plan (EEP), to determine how any pressures on the Firth of Clyde may be managed to allow the natural recovery of fish stocks.
Answer
Scottish Government has continued to support the Clyde 2020 with funding to the Clyde Marine Planning Partnership (CMPP) to develop and deliver a regional marine plan which will support achieving good environmental status for the Clyde. In addition, Marine Scotland Directorate provides support to the Clyde 2020 initiative via participation in meetings and the sharing of relevant information, including, for example survey data. Marine Scotland Directorate has supported work relevant to Clyde 2020 Action Plan including the Clyde demersal fish survey (conducted annually 2016-2021) and a number of PhD studentships, also providing supervisory time and relevant fishery and survey data for the latter.
There are a range of publicly available grant programmes that the Clyde 2020 can apply for, depending on the type of research or piece of work for which they are seeking support and the relevant eligibility criteria for each fund. Examples of these programmes in the marine space are the Marine Fund Scotland, the Scottish Marine Environmental Enhancement Fund (SMEEF), the UK Seafood Fund and the Nature Restoration Fund.