Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 10 December 2013
10 Dec 2013 · S4 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Fisheries Negotiations
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 Scottish Government continues to fight hard in Brussels for Scotland’s fishing sector and I am sure that it will do so again next week. That builds on the strong record of previous Scottish Administrations doing just that. However, Scotland is ready not just to have a seat at the negotiations but to take its turn in leading them. That would be a step forward for protecting and developing our fishing industry.
It is important to recognise that these end-year negotiations come down to a number of key aspects, which I will touch on. The starting point is the issue of landing obligations. We know that we will have a big job to measure how the discard ban is brought about. The way in which fish are sorted and weighed is quite important in that process and I ask the cabinet secretary to make sure that the control orders that deal with that rely on as little handling of fish as possible and move towards weighing being done at sea, with scales that are agreed by the authorities before the boats leave, and without the need to have so much of that weighing done and sampled on shore. The landing obligation leads me to believe that it is important that it is spread over all the species that are landed at one time because, as we move towards a discard ban, the job will be more complicated.
The SFF considers that maximum sustainable yield is
“a laudable intention but the way it is now enshrined in the regulation is scientifically impossible”.
If that is so, we have to find the cabinet secretary a means of cutting the Gordian knot, but in supporting the progressive move towards maximum sustainable yield by 2015 when possible, and no later than 2020, we are taking a realistic view of moving towards the means of sustaining the many mixed fishery stocks in our seas that we have to deal with.
The next issue I would like to deal with is licensing. Our country has a tremendous record of exports and the food and drink sector has led to a large amount of fish exports. It is therefore important that the licensing process for getting stocks from here to places such as China is made much simpler than it is at present. I am afraid to say that licensing can take weeks, if not months, and it must be speeded up in order to help exports to take place.
I will move on to talk about the coherence argument. WWF and the RSPB have said:
“Thanks to the progressive approach adopted by the Scottish Government in working alongside fisheries and environmental stakeholders in the Fisheries Management and Conservation Group, Scottish fisheries can better respond to the challenges of the new CFP regulation.”
I agree with that. A couple of Mondays ago, I was pleased to attend the launch of a sustainable food festival. It will be in Scrabster next September and will be based on fish. The intention is to encourage as many people as possible to eat sustainable fish, and for our Parliament to be able to back a cabinet secretary who ensures that the potential of our fisheries to be sustainable can be achieved.
16:33
It is important to recognise that these end-year negotiations come down to a number of key aspects, which I will touch on. The starting point is the issue of landing obligations. We know that we will have a big job to measure how the discard ban is brought about. The way in which fish are sorted and weighed is quite important in that process and I ask the cabinet secretary to make sure that the control orders that deal with that rely on as little handling of fish as possible and move towards weighing being done at sea, with scales that are agreed by the authorities before the boats leave, and without the need to have so much of that weighing done and sampled on shore. The landing obligation leads me to believe that it is important that it is spread over all the species that are landed at one time because, as we move towards a discard ban, the job will be more complicated.
The SFF considers that maximum sustainable yield is
“a laudable intention but the way it is now enshrined in the regulation is scientifically impossible”.
If that is so, we have to find the cabinet secretary a means of cutting the Gordian knot, but in supporting the progressive move towards maximum sustainable yield by 2015 when possible, and no later than 2020, we are taking a realistic view of moving towards the means of sustaining the many mixed fishery stocks in our seas that we have to deal with.
The next issue I would like to deal with is licensing. Our country has a tremendous record of exports and the food and drink sector has led to a large amount of fish exports. It is therefore important that the licensing process for getting stocks from here to places such as China is made much simpler than it is at present. I am afraid to say that licensing can take weeks, if not months, and it must be speeded up in order to help exports to take place.
I will move on to talk about the coherence argument. WWF and the RSPB have said:
“Thanks to the progressive approach adopted by the Scottish Government in working alongside fisheries and environmental stakeholders in the Fisheries Management and Conservation Group, Scottish fisheries can better respond to the challenges of the new CFP regulation.”
I agree with that. A couple of Mondays ago, I was pleased to attend the launch of a sustainable food festival. It will be in Scrabster next September and will be based on fish. The intention is to encourage as many people as possible to eat sustainable fish, and for our Parliament to be able to back a cabinet secretary who ensures that the potential of our fisheries to be sustainable can be achieved.
16:33
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...