Hansard

The Deputy Presiding Officer (Annabelle Ewing) SNP

The final item of business is a members’ business debate on motion S6M-08651, in the name of Beatrice Wishart, on highly protected marine areas. The debate w...

Beatrice Wishart (Shetland Islands) (LD) LD

I thank those members who signed the motion that allowed the debate to be brought to the chamber. HPMAs are “a blunt instrument”. Those are not my words but...

Karen Adam (Banffshire and Buchan Coast) (SNP) SNP

I thank Beatrice Wishart for bringing this debate to the chamber today and giving us all the opportunity to speak on the issues. I represent a number of coa...

Brian Whittle (South Scotland) (Con) Con

I thank Beatrice Wishart for bringing this important debate to the chamber. Marine ecosystems worldwide store and cycle an estimated 93 per cent of the eart...

The Deputy Presiding Officer SNP

The member is bringing his remarks to a close.

Brian Whittle Con

Not to do so would mean that the Scottish Government was turning its back on those communities. 17:24

Alasdair Allan (Na h-Eileanan an Iar) (SNP) SNP

I thank Beatrice Wishart for bringing this important members’ business debate to the chamber. Over the course of the consultation period for highly protected...

Brian Whittle Con

Will the member give way?

Alasdair Allan SNP

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...

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab) Lab

I, too, thank Beatrice Wishart for bringing the debate to the chamber. This issue has caused great consternation in fishing communities. The Scottish Governm...

The Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Just Transition (Màiri McAllan) SNP

I understand deeply the member’s points, but I want to question how what she is saying reconciles with the fact that she was elected on a manifesto commitmen...

Rhoda Grant Lab

That gets to the nub of the matter. This is not about protecting the marine areas—it is about how we protect them. That is done not from the top down but fro...

Edward Mountain (Highlands and Islands) (Con) Con

The member will remember that, in 2016, this Government was elected on the principle of bringing in an inshore fisheries bill, which it fundamentally failed ...

Rhoda Grant Lab

Absolutely. Managing our seas has to be devolved to local communities. They depend on the fisheries for their very survival and they need the fisheries to c...

Fergus Ewing (Inverness and Nairn) (SNP) SNP

I warmly thank Beatrice Wishart for bringing the debate and the opportunity to speak in it to the chamber, and I congratulate her on her excellent contributi...

Liam McArthur (Orkney Islands) (LD) LD

I join other members in thanking my colleague Beatrice Wishart not just for bringing this evening’s debate but for the tenacity that she has shown in articul...

Brian Whittle Con

Does Mr McArthur also agree that the uncertainty that the proposals are causing is impacting the ability to recruit into the sector?

Liam McArthur LD

I very much agree. I think that that was the point that Karen Adam made. Whether it is in relation to coming into the sector or people seeking to buy new ves...

Emma Harper (South Scotland) (SNP) SNP

I, too, thank Beatrice Wishart for securing the debate. I will start by supporting some of what she has said in her motion. We all know, and we all agree, t...

The Deputy Presiding Officer SNP

Due to the number of members who still wish to speak in the debate, I am minded to accept a motion without notice, under rule 8.14.3, to extend the debate by...

Ariane Burgess (Highlands and Islands) (Green) Green

I thank my colleague Beatrice Wishart for securing the debate and giving us the opportunity to discuss the subject of HPMAs. Scotland is an island nation, a...

Brian Whittle Con

What species are in danger of extinction, and is that verified by neutral science, by any chance?

Edward Mountain Con

Does that include crofters?

Ariane Burgess Green

I apologise to Brian Whittle. I was being distracted by somebody else. Presiding Officer, “This is a crucial next step to aid marine ecosystem recovery in ...

Kate Forbes (Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch) (SNP) SNP

I cannot think of a more important issue on which to give my first speech from the back benches since 2018. I am delighted to be back. However, I am not deli...

The Deputy Presiding Officer SNP

I now call on the cabinet secretary to respond to the debate. 17:58

The Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Just Transition (Màiri McAllan) SNP

I thank Beatrice Wishart for lodging the motion. I also thank her and other members for their contributions today, and those colleagues who joined me in the ...

Rachael Hamilton (Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (Con) Con

Can the cabinet secretary give members a sense of how long it will take to read the responses to the consultation? How many responses did the Government rece...

Màiri McAllan SNP

In an interview that I gave earlier, I noted that we have had thousands of responses. I am still working out how many of them are duplicates and how many wer...

Liam McArthur LD

As someone who is working on a member’s bill to which there have been 14,000 responses, I feel the cabinet secretary’s pain and wish her good speed in gettin...