Meeting of the Parliament 11 December 2018
The result of the division is: For 67, Against 26, Abstentions 17.
Motion, as amended, agreed to,
That the Parliament acknowledges the conclusion of coastal state negotiations and the bilateral negotiation with Norway on shared stocks in the North Sea and the forthcoming annual fisheries negotiations in Brussels; notes that 2019 will see the full implementation of the landing obligation for whitefish stocks and that the outcome of the Brussels negotiations will be pivotal in helping Scotland’s fishing fleet to reduce the potential impacts of choke species; is concerned that failure to explore and adopt all available solutions in this regard could potentially tie the fleet up; welcomes the Scottish Government’s commitment to respect the scientific advice in relation to next year’s quotas but recognises the importance of real time science data and accurate, current stock assessments as part of this approach, and supports its efforts to achieve the best possible outcome for Scotland’s fishermen, coastal communities and wider seafood sectors at the Brussels negotiations; notes that there will be increases in quotas; calls on the Scottish Government to support the industry to grow to meet the increased capacity both within the catching sector and processing; further calls for protected quota shares for new entrants with smaller community-based vessels; is concerned by recent reports of alleged illegal fishing activities, and calls for the use of robust vessel tracking and monitoring technology on all Scottish fishing vessels.