Hansard

This day has been a long time coming. Our bill has enjoyed a lengthy gestation, but it is important that it has throughout that period enjoyed widespread support in the Parliament and beyond. Like Elaine Murray, I pay tribute to a colleague—Ross Finnie—who did much to establish the platform and principles that underpin the bill that we are about to pass. I also acknowledge the considerable efforts of the cabinet secretary and his officials in building successfully on that work.

We offer our sincere thanks to all those who gave evidence on the bill. Their expertise, patience and, as Elaine Murray said, willingness to compromise when necessary have been enormously helpful. I acknowledge the efforts of Scottish Environment LINK, Scottish Renewables, the Scottish Fishermen's Federation and Advocates for Animals. I am indebted to the committee clerks and the Scottish Parliament information centre, which rose to the challenge of turning our policy intentions into workable changes to this historic bill. I am also grateful for the good-natured collaboration of committee colleagues.

As I said at stage 1, my interest in the bill is more than academic. Economically, socially, culturally and environmentally—in every way imaginable—Orkney's past, present and future are forged in the seas around our archipelago. For Scotland and the UK, our seas help to define us as nations.

The economic benefits that traditionally derive from sea fisheries, aquaculture and oil and gas; the potential of our renewable energy sector; the growth of wildlife tourism; and submerged archaeology highlight the extent of the resource on our doorstep and the pressures in managing the sometimes competing demands for access to that resource.

The bill will help us to balance those demands when necessary. I very much welcome the duties that ministers and public authorities will have to protect and enhance Scotland's marine environment. In relation to that, I acknowledge the role of Peter Peacock and Elaine Murray in lodging amendments. We have achieved a sensible compromise about the relative importance that is attached to economic, social and climate mitigation considerations.

In the limited time that remains, I will touch on a few issues that emerged in the debate today. I am delighted that attempts to bring responsibility for fish-farm licensing under the control of Marine Scotland were resisted and that my foreboding was misplaced. As I have said throughout the process, the proposed changes were unnecessary and would have introduced a presumption in favour of centralisation, in the interests of administrative neatness. COSLA and a number of people in the industry—notably in Shetland—highlighted the risks of a loss of efficiency, of local accountability and of financial certainty in business planning. Parliament has listened to the evidence and sent a clear signal about our confidence in councils, several of which have invested time and resources in developing expertise in the subject.

I am pleased that members agreed to support moves to establish a framework for what local plans might look like. The provisions do not go as far as I would like, but they will give useful guidance about what is expected to those who are charged with developing marine plans, particularly at the regional level. That will be done in a way that does not compromise the necessary flexibility.

I thank the Government and the other parties for their support for several of my amendments to remove uncertainties and increased risks for our developing renewables industry. Marine renewables could deliver more than 30GW of power from offshore wind, wave and tidal sources in the next decade, so the contribution that they can make to cutting harmful emissions and meeting our energy needs deserves our full support. The sector can also play a major role in conserving our seas and helping to address issues such as acidification.

Likewise, I am grateful to those who supported my calls for attention to be paid to the impact of displacement effects as a result of marine spatial planning. That might not be an exact science, but we now have a framework in which such issues can at least be assessed.

Like others, I think that we have made progress on seal protection, today and at earlier stages, on which I pay tribute to Elaine Murray for her efforts. I acknowledge that some will be disappointed that we did not go further, but I hope that they, like Robin Harper, at least concede that progress has been made. The bill puts in place a licensing regime that makes it clear that taking or shooting a seal is a last resort. The bill will require all non-lethal deterrents to be exhausted and will place strict limits on the conditions in which any seal can be killed. The important reporting requirements will ensure more transparency and—I hope—public confidence.

Through our collective efforts, we have arrived at a bill that meets the aspirations of the many thousands of people who contributed to the various consultations and calls for evidence. The bill demonstrates the benefits of a consistent approach from successive Governments in Scotland and of collaboration between the Governments north and south of the border.

I congratulate the cabinet secretary and his team again and confirm that Scottish Liberal Democrats will of course support the bill at decision time.