Hansard

I have a constituency that has extensive coastline and sizeable island and coastal communities, so I welcome this important debate on Scotland's marine environment. Current legislation on marine issues is a complex and untidy mix of reserved and devolved powers. Peter Peacock described it as "fiendishly complex".

The power to legislate on marine issues is partially devolved. The Scottish Government has devolved powers over issues such as nature conservation to 12 nautical miles, licensing of deposits in the sea, except oil and gas, and coastal protection works to 12 nautical miles. It has powers over renewable energy—wave, wind and tidal—in the Scottish renewables zone, which is similar in extent to the Scottish fisheries zone, over fisheries within the Scottish fisheries zone, and over pollution control from land. It has powers over cultural heritage within 12 nautical miles, tourism, ports and planning for coastlines and for aquaculture up to 12 nautical miles out.

The mix of competences is arbitrary and unnecessarily complex and ignores the distinctive nature of Scotland's marine environment. That is why the Scottish Government seeks to have marine powers fully devolved.

In early January 2008, a new task force was set up to consider proposals for legislation to protect Scotland's marine and coastal environment. That body will represent the main users of coastal seas.

On Arran in my constituency, the cabinet secretary announced an important and significant initiative on 21 January. He launched the 12-week consultation on the Lamlash Bay community conservation area—which is otherwise known as the no-take zone in Lamlash Bay. It is intended to protect maerl beds—the coral-like seaweed that forms a nursery for young fish—and to promote the regeneration of marine life, including scallops. When an initiative on a similar scale took place in New Zealand, it was found that the number of scallops that were produced increased by up to 50 times. The initiative will be extremely significant for Scotland: it could be a template for zones in other parts of Scotland, allowing us to regenerate depleted marine stocks.

The great thing about what happened in Arran was that it originated in the community: the Community of Arran Seabed Trust pursued the issue for more than a decade. It is significant that, as Dave Thompson mentioned, a marine bill would provide communities with the opportunity to take greater control of their lives.

Scotland's fisheries zone, which is within 200 miles of the coast, covers 127,000 square miles of sea and nearly a quarter of EU waters. When the Parliament was established in 1999, it was 133,000 square miles—I recall that certain parties in Parliament voted to surrender some 6,000 square miles of Scottish seas.

As the cabinet secretary said, Scotland's seas have an exceptionally varied character with wonderfully diverse geological features, such as steep cliffs, deep-sea lochs, islands, rocky reefs, sea caves, sandy beaches, machair, lagoons, salt marshes, estuaries and firths. Scotland's waters are home to at least 8,000 species of plants, invertebrates, fish, birds and mammals. That includes many species of cetacean—whales, dolphins and porpoises—and globally significant populations of some birds and animals. The cabinet secretary talked about the seal population in particular. Scottish waters are among the most rich and diverse in the world. Species such as the basking shark and the leatherback turtle are of global significance, as are Scotland's sea bird populations.

In 2000, the Scottish coastal forum estimated that the annual income from marine activities in the area between 1km offshore and 1km inland was £4.5 billion a year—not including oil, of course. Marine fish farming in the UK is confined entirely to Scottish waters and provides additional income for many fragile rural communities. The Scottish Federation of Sea Anglers estimates that recreational sea angling is worth more than £150 million a year to the Scottish economy through associated retail trades and tourism. Sea angling's future is reliant on the quality of fish stocks. Even whale watching, which people may think is not of great significance, supports some 2,500 jobs and £57 million of revenue annually.

It is therefore vital that we protect our marine species, habitats and ecosystems, whether they are of Scottish or international importance, and that we have a comprehensive network of marine protected areas. It is also important that we have a statutory system of marine spatial planning in Scotland and a lead decision-making body. Through the use of marine spatial planning, we must stop the free-for-all and ensure that aquaculture, oil, gas, renewable energy, fishing, shipping and nature conservation are no longer regulated and planned separately. Issues such as energy, and particularly oil and gas, should be incorporated into any devolved settlement.

On the timing of the marine bill, Mike Rumbles said he was disappointed that it was taking the SNP Government about nine months to progress the matter. The previous Labour and Liberal Administration was in power for 96 months and did not produce the consultation programme that we are moving forward with. I thank the cabinet secretary for his hard work, and wish him all the best in moving the issue through Parliament.