Hansard

Marine tourism is important to many of my constituents, particularly those who live in the island communities of Arran and Cumbrae and the coastal towns in my constituency, from Saltcoats in the south to Skelmorlie in the north.

Scotland, as we know, is blessed with an abundance of assets, energy, people, scenery and produce. Along with those, our marine environment features highly in the strong hand that nature dealt Scotland. Our waters are rich in some of the finest seafood on the planet: Scottish oysters, scallops, langoustines, crabs and lobsters are found on dining tables of top restaurants around the world, and our seafood exports soared to a whopping £613 million last year.

Scotland has vibrant aquatic ecosystems, incredible coastal communities and stunning beaches. Incidentally, Arran has the only officially recognised nudist beach in Scotland, should any hardy soul wish to experience it. At times, of course, it is too cold for some members.

The Scottish Government has worked hard to recognise and develop a strong and growing marine tourism sector. Although the marine environment can be harnessed and enjoyed sustainably, we must remain conscious of how fragile it is. We must treat our waters as an asset that requires careful management and protection. To that end, I welcome the Scottish Government’s objectives and policies for marine tourism and recreation, which are set out in “Scotland’s National Marine Plan” and will ensure that growth is sustainable, allowing us to reap the rewards of our marine environment long into the future.

Marine tourism is one of Scotland’s sleeping giants. We have heard of the excellent work that my colleague Stuart McMillan and others in the cross-party group have done on expanding the recreational boating sector. In my constituency we have Largs yacht haven and Ardrossan marina.

Largs yacht haven recently celebrated its 30th anniversary and has grown to become Scotland’s first five-gold-anchor marina. It supports 730 berths, more than 120 jobs, 17 business premises and a 250-space boatyard with two travel hoists. Clearly Largs yacht haven has been a huge success story and demonstrates the massive potential that the sector holds. The minister will no doubt recall that he and I visited it together in October 2013 to meet the businesses and charities that operate there, and I am sure that he will attest to my comments today.

Ardrossan marina, although much less established, has had a hugely positive impact on changing the image of the town and has the opportunity to further grow and develop. For those of you who have not yet visited and experienced the restaurants, shops and scenery on the north Ayrshire coast, I cannot recommend them highly enough.

The Isle of Arran, which the minister touched on in reference to cold-water tourism, is home to a growing and dynamic marine tourism sector, with many people visiting to participate in kayaking, windsurfing, yachting, scuba diving and other sports. Along with the introduction of the road equivalent tariff, that growing sector will be a huge boost to many island businesses that have found times tough in recent years.

I have already touched on sustainability, and with Arran in mind I wish to take this opportunity to salute the efforts of the Community of Arran Seabed Trust, an organisation dedicated to the protection and restoration of the marine environment around Arran and the Clyde. Following many years of dredging and trawling, the sea floor around much of Arran became increasingly barren and, with little shelter for young fish, stocks declined markedly. I am pleased that the Scottish Government, having worked with and listened to COAST, introduced in 2008 Scotland’s first no-take zone in Lamlash Bay and last year designated the south Arran marine protected area, which is the only entirely community-led marine protected area in Scotland.

This year Howard Wood of COAST was awarded the highly coveted international Goldman environmental prize for his extraordinary efforts over many years—the first time that the award has gone to someone in Scotland. To fully appreciate what has been achieved by Howard and everyone involved with COAST, I recommend watching the short video on YouTube entitled “Howard Wood, 2015 Goldman Environmental Prize, Scotland”. The video features a short comment from me and, perhaps more interestingly, is narrated by Robert Redford, which I believe allows me to claim that I have starred alongside him to some degree.

On top of the progress already achieved by COAST and the Scottish Government, I warmly welcome last week’s statement from the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Food and Environment that a marine conservation order will be put before Parliament, setting out conservation measures to ban the highly destructive practice of scallop dredging in the south Arran marine protected area and 12 other west coast MPAs. Those measures will protect not only fish stocks—sustaining the fishing industry for years to come—but also the diverse ecosystem on the seabed around Arran, which is becoming increasingly popular with scuba divers and marine researchers from all over the world: people who contribute strongly to marine tourism and the Scottish economy.

I again welcome the work undertaken by COAST, the Scottish Government and Scottish marine tourism development group in ensuring that the sleeping giant wakes from its slumber.