Hansard

I thank Beatrice Wishart for securing this members’ business debate and for her fitting tribute to Dr Ian Napier. I, too, send my condolences to his family.

I recently had the privilege of hosting the Our Seas coalition exhibition and reception in the Parliament. It was clear to me from that event, and from speaking to the fishing community throughout the Highlands and Islands, how disengaged from decision makers the industry feels.

Bailey Dacker, who took part in the exhibition, summarised a lot of the feeling around decision making when he said:

“I don’t feel like I have a say in the decisions made about the sea, but I’d like to. A lot of the decisions by the government aren’t taking into consideration the fishermen’s thoughts at the moment. If I were to make one request of political decision-makers, it would be to come and ask us younger fishermen. Whatever you manage right now, the likes of myself or my mates don’t ever hear about anything or get asked any questions about what we think about this. We just see it happening and have to adapt to it.”

That has to change. However, as the motion testifies in highlighting the lack of a Government debate on the subject, fishing appears to be a very low priority for the Government.

I know that those in the fishing community were keen on Brexit, as they thought that being outside the European Union would deal with many of the issues that they faced. Sadly, however, that has not been the case, and there is now even less focus on fishing.

The Rural Affairs and Islands Committee recently visited the Scottish Government marine laboratory in Aberdeen, and—to be frank—we have all visited better-kept boat sheds. The lack of investment in the laboratory and in marine science was absolutely embarrassing to see. At the same time, some of the Scottish statutory instruments to manage fishing that come to committee are based on data that is incomplete or simply wrong. The fishing community is bemused by regulation that bears no resemblance to reality.

There is also the added pressure on our marine areas. Inshore fisheries are under pressure from mobile gear boats, and all areas are under pressure from increasing demands on our seas. Aquaculture and seaweed farming are marine activities, but there is encroachment on those areas from offshore renewables, cables, pipelines and the like. All of that puts pressure on fishing, before we even start to look at the conflict that arises from foreign boats. The policing of that conflict falls to the marine directorate’s seafarers, who are undervalued and underpaid and are sent to police the seas in extremely dangerous conditions.

There are many other issues that we need to debate, including the shape of our industry; the gear that is used; how fishers can work to protect our marine environment; and training, skills and investment. A members’ business debate simply does not allow us the time to debate all those issues properly. We need Government to look at the industry and beyond and at the way in which we use our seas, and to work with stakeholders and use their knowledge and expertise.

We need a strategy for the seas that shows where we fish, the features that we need to protect, where we generate energy and the many other aspects of our marine environment. That strategy needs to be drawn up with stakeholders and, within it, we need to allow for local management so that we can farm our seas in a way that is sustainable for future generations.