Meeting of the Parliament 02 May 2023
No—I will make progress, as there is very little time.
Even on recent primary school visits, HPMAs have been the first thing that many pupils have wanted to ask me about.
My own consultation response details many of the concerns that constituents have expressed to me about the potential ramifications of the proposals locally, and so I shall not attempt to cover those in detail in the little time that I have available.
The key question is this: in the case of a local HPMA designation, what would that mean economically to the coastal communities that are so affected? On the west coast, many fishing vessels are too small to be able, realistically, to work further afield. Even if they did so, creelers would face the task of re-establishing grounds in which to work, and fish processing would be unlikely to have a future in any community where fishing and aquaculture had, potentially, effectively come to an end.
If the measures are implemented, they would, I believe, disproportionately punish low-impact and more sustainable forms of fishing. As sites are not due to be selected for another two years, I am afraid that the issue will be hanging over each and every coastal community between now and when those decisions are taken.
Fishers and others who rely on the sea to make their living fully recognise the need to tackle biodiversity loss, and that loss is certainly real, but nobody with whom I have spoken in the islands believes that a blunt approach is the best way to go. I question how any such approach would, in the end, be compatible with the Scottish Government’s commendable drive to tackle rural depopulation, as well as with the overall aims and commitments that are set out in “The National Islands Plan”.
When officials finish processing the responses to the HPMA consultation, they will—I believe, although I cannot prove it—find that islanders from all walks of life and all political persuasions are, in the Western Isles in any case, fairly united in their opposition to the proposals as they currently stand.
I know that the First Minister gets that, as does the cabinet secretary, and I am very grateful for their commitment that HPMAs will not be imposed on communities that do not want them. We all know that the consultation responses will show anger and opposition, but they will also show our coastal communities’ passion and positive ideas for growth and sustainability in the islands. We can have that conversation, with the starting point being the Government’s welcome commitment not to impose HPMAs on communities that view them as an existential threat.
17:28