Hansard

I am pleased that we are able to debate Scotland’s first national marine plan, and I begin by thanking the stakeholders who have played an important part in shaping the plan. A diverse range of interests have contributed thoughtfully and helpfully and have played a constructive role in the process. I also thank members of the Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment Committee for their scrutiny; I set out my response to their thoughtful recommendations earlier this week. I note the positive comments made by stakeholders during that process. For example, Calum Duncan, representing Scottish Environment LINK, stated:

“We welcome the national marine plan as a step change in the management of our seas”.—[Official Report, Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment Committee, 7 January 2015; c 4.]

Marine planning is new and important. We need to act now to put in place a framework that will promote marine activity and ensure that our unique marine environment is safeguarded. Scotland’s natural resources are world famous and our seas are part of a rich legacy. In fact, our sea area is six times the landmass of Scotland. I shall repeat that: it is six times the landmass of Scotland, with over 460,000km2 of some of the most productive and diverse waters on the whole planet. Those seas support habitats ranging from shallow estuaries to deep sea coral reefs, and more than 6,000 marine species, including more than 20 species of marine mammals such as seals and dolphins. Our seabird population is vast—as large as our human population—and includes a number of protected species.

I take the responsibility of protecting the environment for future generations extremely seriously, not only for families in Scotland but because climate change is a global issue and we must contribute what we can to a global response. The seas do not respect boundaries, so we must work in partnership across sectors and nations to manage them well. That is why I led the development of a new legislative framework, the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010, through the Parliament.

The act requires us to have a marine plan that sets out policies for the sustainable development of Scotland’s seas, including economic, social, climate change and ecosystem objectives—that is, a plan that respects the stunning environments and supports our amazingly productive marine industries while allowing for new industries to emerge.

Our diverse industries illustrate why we must have proper safeguards in place to protect our rich natural assets and those who make a living from them. As we are all aware, a number of recent incidents, such as the large cargo ship that ran aground at Ardnamurchan point yesterday, highlight the real risks that we must guard against and respond to.

As things stand, the United Kingdom Government is responsible for determining the appropriate levels of provision to protect ships passing through our waters, and there have now been three significant incidents in our waters involving large vessels in the past few months alone, reminding us all of the need to protect not only human life but our precious marine environments. Yet, we still have the unacceptable situation that sees some of Europe’s largest and busiest waters protected by only one emergency towing vessel berthed in the northern isles, leaving the waters on the west coast, in particular, severely exposed.

I have raised the issue with the UK Government a number of times since the decision to slash funding and halve the number of emergency tugs in our waters. Most recently, I wrote in November requesting an early discussion of the current situation on funding beyond next year, following the incident involving a shipment of radioactive waste in our waters, but I have yet to receive an acceptable response and firm commitment on the issue. I can tell the chamber today that I will be writing in the strongest terms to the UK Government, urging it immediately to review the current provision and calling on it to guarantee future funding for appropriate provision beyond 2016, when the current arrangements come to an end. As things stand, by easter 2016, we could be without any cover from that tug service in Scotland’s waters. Given their economic and environmental importance, we simply cannot afford to gamble with our seas. The UK Government must recognise the potential cost of leaving our seas vulnerable, rather than obsess about the cost of maintaining adequate emergency tug provision.

Of course, that is not the only barrier to genuine integrated management of our seas. The arrangements that govern the Crown Estate are well documented. Its assets in Scotland include around 50 per cent of the foreshore, almost all the sea bed out to 12 nautical miles and the associated rights on the continental shelf beyond 12 nautical miles.

I call on the UK Government to confirm that it will deliver full legislative devolution for all our Crown Estate assets for all our seas out to 200 nautical miles. That will enable the national marine plan to move forward and cover all activity, including reserved activities, out to 200 nautical miles. Future decisions, including those by the UK Government and the Crown Estate, must take account of the policies on safeguarding Scottish interests that are set out in the plan.