Seòmar agus comataidhean

You are absolutely right. The salmon is an iconic species for Scotland, and we need to do absolutely everything that we can to prevent a further decline in its numbers. We are not holding anything up in trying to address the challenges that we face. The stage that we are at now is based on the work that we have done in trying to identify what the key pressures on wild salmon are. That is why we published the wild salmon strategy and then published the implementation plan.

It is all very well to have a strategy, but we need to deliver on what we set out in it. That is where the 60 recommendations are key, and that is why having a delivery group, which will ensure that we deliver against those recommendations, will play a really critical part, as well. The group has already had its first meeting and, as I have said, we will report annually on where we are at with each of the recommendations.

You talked about innovation. That is really important. That is why we support innovation and fund it. Through the marine fund Scotland, we have provided about £7 million-worth of funding for innovation and technology. We also work with the likes of the Sustainable Aquaculture Innovation Centre, which gets funding through the Scottish Funding Council and takes forward a number of important projects.

We are therefore not holding anything up. We want to address the challenges that we know salmon farming faces, but some of them are more difficult to deal with. There is the impact of climate change, and there are all the other challenges that it faces. That is why it is important that we try to take action on all those fronts and do what we can to meet the challenges that we know exist.

Yes, absolutely. We have seen that through the voluntary reporting of data. Obviously, we have some regulatory and mandatory requirements of the industry, but, using mortalities as an example, the industry has voluntarily published that information by the percentage and cause of mortalities. Industry is also looking at—I am sure that officials will correct me if I am wrong—its community engagement, the code of practice on that and how it can better do that. Although I have outlined some of the actions that we have taken on the overall holistic picture and the consideration of the various issues in the round, and I have talked about the role of SEPA and regulation in that, I think that industry is making those changes on the basis of the various voluntary information that it has provided. We collect all that information, and the Scotland’s Aquaculture website is an example of where we have tried to pull all of that information together.

On the use of antibiotics, Jill Barber touched on the on-going work in the consultation on the use of emamectin benzoate. Anything that is used has to be within the environmental limits and standards that are in place. Again, that is where the work of the farmed fish health framework has been really important. That group is chaired by the chief vet, and treatment is a theme of the work. If the committee would like more detail on the work that the group is undertaking on antibiotics, I will be happy to provide that.

Again—

I have already made points about the work that has been done on the categorisation and on mortalities. I do not know whether officials wish to make further points about their work.

I have not been alerted to any potential loopholes. As I said, the fish health inspectorate undertakes inspections and monitoring.

Jill, do you have any further information on that?

We would not be content with that, and I do not think that anybody would be content with it, if you were to look at the figure in that way. Obviously, we want mortality levels to be at the absolute lowest possible level. A variety of factors can have an impact throughout the cycle, but we would not be content with that and would want them to be at the absolute lowest level.

I obviously want Scotland to produce the highest-quality product, but I disagree with the assertion that we are somehow more relaxed in our regulation. We can certainly make improvements to the process, which is why we are undertaking the programme of work that we have set out with the consenting task group to streamline the process. It is not about deregulating; we want to make sure that our regulation system and consenting processes are efficient, effective and transparent. It is not a fair comparison to say that we sit below the Faroe Islands and Norway when it comes to regulation.

I come back to my previous response. It is not possible for me to give a definitive figure for what our mortality rate should be. Jill Barber highlighted that other countries are experiencing similar problems. We want to work to reduce the figure to the lowest possible level. That is why the work that we are doing through the farmed fish health framework and the other strands of work to try to identify the issues is vital.

I know that the suggestion has been made. Obviously, we have in place agreements with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities on how that funding will be distributed to coastal communities, and this is the agreement that we have in place here.

Of course, I welcome and am happy to consider any suggestions, but it is important to remember that, if we were to do what has been suggested, we would have to do so, and look at the community benefit, in conjunction with our local authority partners. We have been able to show how we, together with industry, can deliver this in some of the communities that I have mentioned, and I am keen to make sure that that work progresses.