Meeting of the Parliament 20 March 2025 [Draft]
I am delighted to be able to open this debate on behalf of the Scottish Conservatives. Before I go any further, I remind Parliament of my entry in the register of members’ interests, which states that I have an interest in a wild salmon fishery. I have had that interest for 45 years, during which time I have been involved in watching salmon farming around the coasts of Scotland.
I, too, would like to thank committee members for all the work that they have done. I know how difficult it has been, as I have been there before, when the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee considered the issue in 2018.
As a Conservative, I support businesses. I support businesses that bring a great deal to Scotland’s economy in terms of employment and opportunities, and in terms of our balance of payments. However, we must be clear that those businesses cannot do that at any price.
It would be wrong to scoot past without reminding members of the fable of “The Emperor’s New Clothes”. Members will recall that, in that story, events resulted in the Emperor going out undressed because people were incompetent and gullible and pretended not to know what was going on. I am none of those things and, when it comes to salmon farming, I will not be any of those things.
In 2018, the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee told this Parliament that there were things wrong with salmon farming. It made 65 recommendations, and I am disappointed that the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee, having looked at some of those recommendations again, is having to acknowledge that a lot of them have not been complied with.
I remember sitting on the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee and hearing calls for a moratorium on salmon farming. In the end, two members dissented from the part of the report in which we did not call for a moratorium. I was one of those who did not want a moratorium, but my position might have changed.