Meeting of the Parliament 16 June 2015
Thank you, Presiding Officer.
There have been some good speeches from all across the chamber. In that regard, I commend Stuart McMillan again for the good work that he has done in convening the Parliament’s cross-party group on recreational boating and marine tourism, of which I am a member. There have been some very good illustrations at the cross-party group of how important sea angling is. A number of members referred to sea angling in the debate, and I agree with the sentiments that they expressed on it. As we have heard, the Scottish Government’s 2009 “Economic Impact of Recreational Sea Angling in Scotland” report set out just how much income the industry brings in. I am delighted that this year’s European boat-and-line class sea angling championships will return to Stromness in Orkney during the first week of August. They were last held in Orkney in 2009, and the chairman of the European Federation of Sea Angling, Horst Schneider, has described that as an
“unforgettable event producing an amazing 4,227 fish featuring ling, pollack, cod and spurdog over the four competition days.”
I wish all the competitors tight lines in this year’s championships and I hope that many more international sea-angling competitions can be held in Scotland, because they provide huge boosts to local economies.
Marine wildlife watching is also very important, especially in my region of the Highlands and Islands. One third of the whale population of the north Atlantic migrates through the waters around the Hebrides each year, and companies like Hebridean Whale Cruises offer fantastic opportunities to see those beautiful creatures. A company called Seafari Adventures that operates in Oban and Skye also offers fascinating marine wildlife boat trips, including being taken to see the Gulf of Corryvreckan, home of the world’s third-largest whirlpool. However, having done it myself, I can assure members that they would not want to go there under the wrong conditions. There are also a number of companies offering trips to see the Moray Firth’s population of bottlenose dolphins.
The role of Scotland’s canals has been mentioned in the debate. Again, I recognise the very significant income that they bring to my region through the tourism that is associated with the Caledonian and Crinan canals. Earlier this month in the chamber, I was pleased to take part in Dave Thompson’s members’ business debate about the Caledonian canal. Following that debate, in which I highlighted calls for additional moorings to be provided along the canal, I was contacted by my constituent David Edes, who is chairman of the Great Glen Canal Users Association. Mr Edes, too, is keen to see additional moorings, but points out that Government support for Scottish Canals has remained frozen at about £10 million per annum, which in real terms is a steady reduction. That seems to be very good value for money, given the number of visitors that our canals attract. However, would the Government consider making additional one-off payments to provide additional moorings in order to expand capacity, which seems to be what people are asking for? Perhaps the minister will comment on that in his closing remarks.
We support the ambitions to grow Scotland’s marine tourism sector and we look to the Scottish Government and local authorities to do whatever they can to support our marine tourism businesses, especially in the provision of infrastructure, which is crucial if we are going to meet our growth targets. Support for marketing our excellent marine tourism activities is crucial and must go on.
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