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Plenary, 04 Feb 2010

04 Feb 2010 · S3 · Plenary

Item of business

Marine (Scotland) Bill

Scott, John Con Ayr Watch on SPTV

I begin, like others, by thanking all those who have contributed to the creation of the Marine (Scotland) Bill. In particular, I thank our clerks, who have worked so hard to get us to where we are today. We are also indebted to all those who gave evidence to the committee and the Government prior to the drafting of the bill, and we are particularly grateful to organisations such as the Scottish Fishermen's Federation, the Scottish Salmon Producers Organisation, Advocates for Animals, Scottish Environment LINK, and Scottish Renewables for all their lobbying and input.

Today we have made a bill of which our Parliament can be justifiably proud. The bill seeks to develop marine planning in a sustainable way, as well as to focus where possible and practicable on restoring and enhancing our marine environment. Of course, our fishermen, who have made their living from the seas since time immemorial, and those who will seek to exploit our seas in the future, have to be and have been our primary consideration in the passage of the bill, but those interests now also have properly to take greater account of environmental considerations, and to rebuild and restore our unique marine environment and habitats.

For all who were closely involved in the process, which, I am happy to say, has not been party political, trying to reconcile the needs, aspirations and ambitions of all current and future users of our seas has been a balancing act. Time will tell and history will judge whether we have created a worthwhile bill, but I share the view of the cabinet secretary and Elaine Murray that we have done that. I am certain that what we have delivered is better than what existed before. Marine Scotland now has a huge task ahead of it to implement the bill. An ecosystem approach to the development of national marine plans will take a huge amount of studying and information-gathering, and I wish Marine Scotland well in that task.

We have also dealt specifically with fish-farming and seal protection in section 5, and I hope that we achieved a compromise that allows and encourages the development of aquaculture, while protecting our internationally important seal colonies. My only regret is that the Government did not have the courage of its convictions and transfer planning control for aquaculture to Marine Scotland, and that inconsistency is and will remain a weakness in the bill. I share Elaine Murray's views on that, and her surprise at Tavish Scott's apparent, but memorable, misunderstanding of what was being proposed.

We have sought to look into the future by placing climate change mitigation at the heart of the bill, and it is self-evident that the future health and wellbeing of our seas will depend on how climate change and temperature changes affect all the species contained therein.

We have also sought to make the bill compatible with the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009, which is important to delivering a consistent UK-wide approach to the use and protection of our seas.

I thank again all those who have helped to create the bill. The Scottish Conservatives look forward to its passing into law.