Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 10 December 2013
10 Dec 2013 · S4 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Fisheries Negotiations
Thank you.
The talks between the EU and Norway are therefore crucial; let me now turn to members’ comments on the cod recovery plan.
Lewis Macdonald made a very good point when he alluded to the fact that we have a regulatory straitjacket that is the cod recovery plan, which was signed up to a few years ago and reflected circumstances at the time. This Government, of course, was not happy with the particular wording of the plan back then, and here we are in 2013 looking at the current fishing biology and circumstances with a plan that was designed a few years ago—a plan that is being adhered to time and again by a European Commission backed up by its lawyers.
At the forefront of our minds should be what is best for the cod stock and a reasonable outcome for our fishing industries. We do not want a situation in which Europe implements a 9 per cent cut because that is what the plans says. The cod recovery plan leads to more cod discards in our waters, forcing our fishermen to have the abhorrent experience of throwing good-quality fish—that is dead—overboard back into the sea. It is therefore good that the scientists, environmental organisations, the Scottish Government and all other parties in the chamber back a reasonable outcome and the potential for a modest increase in that quota.
A difficulty with the cod recovery plan is that it has had a huge negative impact on fleets’ ability to catch other stocks. It has been difficult for the Scottish fleet to catch other healthy stocks, because the state of the cod stock and the related legislation that it must adhere to means that it is not allowed to visit parts of the sea at certain times. The inflexibility in the cod recovery plan is so damaging to the Scottish fleet, and we must get it changed as quickly as possible.
A number of big challenges are on the horizon. We have the short-term challenges of next week’s quota negotiations, which we have discussed at length; the mackerel dispute that forms the backdrop of the negotiations—I hope that we can get a deal on that signed up to in the next few weeks and months; and the implementation of the discard ban, which will be possible only if we have genuine regionalisation in place. We do not want the detail in our complex fisheries decided in Brussels over the implementation of a discard ban; rather, we must work in partnership with our own industries and scientists in Scotland and those in other countries in the same waters to put the right measures into place.
The talks between the EU and Norway are therefore crucial; let me now turn to members’ comments on the cod recovery plan.
Lewis Macdonald made a very good point when he alluded to the fact that we have a regulatory straitjacket that is the cod recovery plan, which was signed up to a few years ago and reflected circumstances at the time. This Government, of course, was not happy with the particular wording of the plan back then, and here we are in 2013 looking at the current fishing biology and circumstances with a plan that was designed a few years ago—a plan that is being adhered to time and again by a European Commission backed up by its lawyers.
At the forefront of our minds should be what is best for the cod stock and a reasonable outcome for our fishing industries. We do not want a situation in which Europe implements a 9 per cent cut because that is what the plans says. The cod recovery plan leads to more cod discards in our waters, forcing our fishermen to have the abhorrent experience of throwing good-quality fish—that is dead—overboard back into the sea. It is therefore good that the scientists, environmental organisations, the Scottish Government and all other parties in the chamber back a reasonable outcome and the potential for a modest increase in that quota.
A difficulty with the cod recovery plan is that it has had a huge negative impact on fleets’ ability to catch other stocks. It has been difficult for the Scottish fleet to catch other healthy stocks, because the state of the cod stock and the related legislation that it must adhere to means that it is not allowed to visit parts of the sea at certain times. The inflexibility in the cod recovery plan is so damaging to the Scottish fleet, and we must get it changed as quickly as possible.
A number of big challenges are on the horizon. We have the short-term challenges of next week’s quota negotiations, which we have discussed at length; the mackerel dispute that forms the backdrop of the negotiations—I hope that we can get a deal on that signed up to in the next few weeks and months; and the implementation of the discard ban, which will be possible only if we have genuine regionalisation in place. We do not want the detail in our complex fisheries decided in Brussels over the implementation of a discard ban; rather, we must work in partnership with our own industries and scientists in Scotland and those in other countries in the same waters to put the right measures into place.
In the same item of business
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Elaine Smith)
Lab
The next item of business is a debate on motion S4M-08540, in the name of Richard Lochhead, on the end-year fisheries negotiations.15:39
The Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment (Richard Lochhead)
SNP
We meet after what has been another eventful year for our important fishing industry.We started this year by breathing a sigh of relief after the negotiation...
Tavish Scott (Shetland Islands) (LD)
LD
Will the cabinet secretary update the Parliament on the status of the European Union-Norway talks?
Richard Lochhead
SNP
Yes. I will come on to that very important point on the shared stocks between the EU and Norway if the member will just hold on.I mentioned that the first ro...
Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab)
Lab
I welcome today’s debate in advance of the end-of-year fishing negotiations. It gives us the opportunity to speak in the interests of Scottish fishing and to...
Alex Johnstone (North East Scotland) (Con)
Con
I enjoy the annual opportunity to participate in this debate, with its traditional role of sending the minister off to the European fisheries negotiation wit...
Tavish Scott (Shetland Islands) (LD)
LD
The EU fisheries talks next week may not agree much. The continuing failure of international discussions involving the EU, Norway, the Faroes and Iceland wil...
Angus MacDonald (Falkirk East) (SNP)
SNP
One thing that can definitely be agreed by all interested parties is that there is a general consensus that cod stocks are recovering in the North Sea. That ...
Lewis Macdonald (North East Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
There are wide areas of agreement on many aspects of the negotiations and it is right that the members who lodged the motion and amendments have highlighted ...
Stewart Stevenson (Banffshire and Buchan Coast) (SNP)
SNP
PG Wodehouse used to have Bertie Wooster insist that Jeeves had some fish when a particularly knotty problem had to be dealt with, so I naturally had fish fo...
Christian Allard (North East Scotland) (SNP)
SNP
I declare an interest, in that I have worked for the past 20 years in the Scottish fishing industry in Aberdeen, in North East Scotland, the region that I ha...
Jenny Marra (North East Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
As a member for North East Scotland, I am glad to speak in the debate and to support the Labour amendment. The common fisheries policy was set up to address ...
Rob Gibson (Caithness, Sutherland and Ross) (SNP)
SNP
I am pleased to take part in the debate. The end-year fishing negotiations are vital to many communities that I and many other members represent. The Scottis...
Tavish Scott
LD
Alex Johnstone started his contribution by saying that this annual debate is Parliament’s way of sending off the minister with great support. It did not alwa...
Stewart Stevenson
SNP
Will the member take an intervention?
Tavish Scott
LD
I will just finish my point. Monkfish is the most valuable species to the Shetland fleet, being worth approximately £4 million out of the £60 million of fish...
Stewart Stevenson
SNP
Like those of Tavish Scott, my constituents are heavily dependent on the fishing industry. I wonder whether, in light of the fact that our minister is one of...
Tavish Scott
LD
I do not in any way doubt the cabinet secretary’s involvement or his expertise, as he has taken part for many years. However, my knowledge of the process has...
Alex Fergusson (Galloway and West Dumfries) (Con)
Con
Presiding Officer, I sometimes think that we ought to recall Parliament on Christmas day to hold this debate, such is the degree of good will that emanates f...
Claudia Beamish (South Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
This time last year I stood in the chamber to debate the annual EU fisheries negotiations, and I expressed concerns about the state of our shared European fi...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
Lab
Before I call the cabinet secretary to close the debate, I once again remind members that the debates this afternoon are on a follow-on basis. Members who wi...
Richard Lochhead
SNP
Once again, this has been a helpful and useful debate prior to the end-of-year bun fight that takes place in Brussels every December. These annual fisheries ...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
Lab
Eight minutes.
Richard Lochhead
SNP
Okay. Eight more minutes or eight minutes altogether?
The Deputy Presiding Officer
Lab
Eight minutes in total.
Richard Lochhead
SNP
Thank you.The talks between the EU and Norway are therefore crucial; let me now turn to members’ comments on the cod recovery plan. Lewis Macdonald made a ve...
Liam McArthur (Orkney Islands) (LD)
LD
The cabinet secretary will be well aware that, in going into negotiations, the more priorities that one has, the weaker one’s position. A number of members h...
Richard Lochhead
SNP
I am happy to confirm that, as I alluded to in my opening remarks, I will not support any deal that leads to any cut in days at sea for the Scottish fleet. I...