Hansard

Good morning. I thank the committee for the opportunity to update it on the progress that we have made just over one year on from its report on salmon farming in Scotland. We took seriously the recommendations in the committee’s report, and, following careful consideration, I set out a targeted programme in response, including how best to make progress on the issues that were raised, supported by evidence, and in what order.I am grateful to the committee for its insights, as well as to stakeholders more broadly for their input, in helping us to make effective prioritisation decisions and in advancing the conversation on a sustainable future for salmon farming in Scotland, to which the Government remains fully committed.On fish health and welfare—and, in particular, given the concerns that some sites were experiencing persistent high mortality—Scottish Government scientists, fish health experts and policy officials have worked at pace to deliver a robust analytical framework to determine whether such sites exist, what actions are being taken by producers to tackle such mortality and, ultimately, to evidence whether further Government intervention is required beyond our existing regulation.The preliminary conclusion is that persistent elevated mortality is not a systemic issue for Scottish marine salmon sites. Only a small fraction of sites were identified as having such mortality, and the work showed that all producers already take a considerable range of responsible and prompt actions to tackle and reduce persistent mortality where it occurs. As a result, I do not believe that further regulatory action is warranted at this time. It is still the Scottish Government’s position, which is shared by the industry, that mortality should be managed to the lowest possible levels. We continue to support the sector through different workstreams, including by facilitating the science, innovation and strategic approaches that are necessary to address those challenges.On fish welfare, I have already committed to progressing welfare standards for farmed fish under the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006. Delivery will be progressed this year by working with stakeholders in the farmed fish sector, as well as with veterinary experts, regulators and animal welfare organisations, to deliver guidance that is both robust and operationally feasible. We are also strengthening enforcement of farmed fish welfare by working with the Animal and Plant Health Agency to increase the number of trained fish inspectors and the number of inspections that are carried out per year, and to require those inspections to focus on adherence to the relevant welfare standards.To improve transparency across the sector, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency has updated the Scotland’s Aquaculture website to provide better access to important data and information. It has also launched a discovery project to prototype a new digital solution for co-ordinated regulation, with the aim of rolling that out next year. Meanwhile, we have published a mortality data topic sheet to enhance the understanding and use of all the data that is published regarding fish health.On spatial planning and consenting, we have delivered on a programme for government commitment to confirm that local planning authorities are responsible for fish farm planning controls and to confirm SEPA as the lead regulator for fish farm discharges within the three to 12 nautical mile zone, thereby future-proofing regulation as fish farms look to move into more exposed locations.We have also adopted Scotland’s first regional marine plans: the plan for the Shetland islands region, which we adopted in December last year, and the plan for Orkney, which we adopted in February this year. The adoption of those plans, which marks a significant milestone for marine planning in Scotland, enables a community-led approach to be taken to marine spatial planning, to reflect local circumstances. We have also worked to support more proposals to be made as part of our fish farm consenting pilots, which are operating in the Shetland and Highland local authority areas, and we are addressing the recommendations of an initial evaluation exercise.The Scottish Government is highly supportive of sector innovation, and work to ensure that the activities of the Sustainable Aquaculture Innovation Centre continue effectively into the future is near completion. We have also continued to work with SEPA to implement a monitoring programme to support the sea lice regulatory framework. The programme, which is examining sea trout on the west coast, the Western Isles and Orkney, was implemented last year, and, this year, it will be enhanced through the support of the Scottish Government. Although there are appeals relating to elements of SEPA’s framework, appeal mechanisms are part of a fair consenting system, and due process will be followed. To ensure that Scotland is taking the right approach for the longer term, our chief scientific adviser for marine is working to consider the scientific underpinning of SEPA’s sea lice framework.It is important that I finish by reflecting on the value of salmon farming in Scotland. The latest Scottish fish farm production survey reported that, in 2024, salmon farming achieved a production value of more than £1.3 billion, and His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs statistics revealed that salmon exports were worth £828 million in 2025. We know that the wider sector generated £468 million in gross value added in 2023, and that it supports more than 11,000 jobs across the wider supply chain. Beyond those headline statistics, the sector also supports community benefit through its contribution to the Scottish consolidated fund, which is distributed to coastal local authorities.As ever, there is always more work to do. Although I am pleased to discuss with the committee the progress that has been made over the past 12 months, we will continue to deliver the work programme that we set out in response to the committee’s report.I am happy to take any questions that the committee might have.