Meeting of the Parliament 18 December 2025
The SNP continues to complain about the fishing and coastal growth fund allocation, but it was devolved at the SNP’s request. It knew that devolved funding comes through the Barnett formula, yet getting its hands on the additional money for it to spend was more important than letting the Scottish fishing industry bid into a total UK pot. The SNP should have negotiated a greater share before asking for the money to be devolved.
That is not a convoluted argument. It is a statement of fact, and failing to do that negotiation is another indication of the Government’s incompetence. Indeed, we should all be relieved that this Government was not asked by the Scottish people to negotiate a severance agreement with the UK, because that would have been an even greater disaster, given its incompetence.
I am not going to rehash the points that I made a few days ago in a similar debate, but I do hope that the Scottish Government has reflected and that it will make sure that this does not happen again. I hope that it is trying to get agreement for the Scottish industry to be able to bid into the UK fund.
The Scottish Government allocates marine fund grants to organisations in the rest of the UK, such as £57,703 to a company in Gloucester. That is a recognition that research and development will assist the whole of the UK, not just one part.
As well as arguing that the Scottish Government should negotiate a greater share of the UK fund for the Scottish industry, I also ask what it is planning to do with the share that it has. Our coastal communities are crying out for funding, and we desperately need forward planning. Many fishing boats are concerned about their future, given cuts in quotas. Will the money be used to invest in technologies that will allow more selective fishing? Will it be used to improve fishery science?
Last year, the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee visited the marine laboratories in Aberdeen as part of our budget scrutiny. Staff were working in desperate conditions and carrying out a high standard of work despite that, but it was clear that Government cuts in marine science were impacting on what they could do. They are not independent of Government, which hampers their ability to get contracts elsewhere. We are dependent on the International Council for Exploration of the Seas for data, and we have to accept that data if we do not have robust data of our own to counteract it. With a hollowed-out marine science centre in Aberdeen, that is simply not possible.
We also need investment in processing. Our ambition is to increase the Scottish share of fishing in our waters, but we cannot do that without the ability to process the fish that we catch. We need a strategic plan for fishing to allow us to grow the industry, and that should be happening now. Instead, we see the Scottish Government trying to divert attention by blaming others for its failings.
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