Seòmar agus comataidhean

Further to the answer to question S6W-34497 on 19 February 2025, drafting of the proposed Nature Conservation Order and associated Land Register of Scotland and General Register of Sasines searches have continued to progress. I expect to receive advice and a recommendation on the proposed NCO imminently.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

Salmon farming is regulated primarily as development by Local Authorities through planning permissions granted under the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997. Other consents can include a seabed lease from Crown Estate Scotland, a licence from the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (“SEPA”) under the Water Environment (Controlled Activities) (Scotland) Regulations 2011 and a Marine Licence from the Scottish Government's Marine Directorate - Licensing Operations Team for the deposit of equipment under the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010.

Incidents of marine pollution are typically reported to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (“MCA”), who then inform other relevant authorities. Where pollution is suspected to be associated with an aquaculture site, SEPA has primacy in investigating the cause and considering any potential sanctions.

In cases of pollution elsewhere than at an aquaculture site, the Scottish Government’s Marine Directorate can investigate and it can take action if the evidence indicates that an offence under the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 has been committed. This can include cases of unlicensed deposits of a substance or object into the marine environment or a failure to comply with the conditions of a licensed activity.

In the case of a vessel sinking, the responsible authority is the MCA and it directs any salvage operations through powers held by the Secretary of State’s Representative for Maritime Salvage and Intervention (“SOSREP”). The MCA also has responsibility for pollution emanating from vessels under the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (“MarPol”).

We received an excellent response to the Inshore Fisheries Management Improvement Programme call for evidence which ran for twelve weeks from 26 November 2024. We intend to publish an analysis in due course. The responses are both numerous and voluminous and have required longer than anticipated to fully analyse and report upon. The scale of the responses has however provided a detailed insight into the views of our stakeholders on numerous aspects of inshore fisheries management. These will be invaluable as we begin to develop proposals for a new inshore fisheries management framework, which we intend to consult on in early 2026.

Our Fisheries Management Strategy sets out actions to support the fishing fleet to modernise, and for appropriate use to be made of new and additional technology and gear innovation. As part of this the Scottish Government has delivered on our commitment to introduce remote electronic monitoring requirements for pelagic and scallop vessels, with legislation being passed in June 2024. The legislation can be found at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi/2024/165/contents/made

Our commitment to improve the inshore fisheries evidence base through the use of appropriate and proportionate onboard electronic technology monitoring on under 12 metre vessels is currently being progressed.

Through our Future Catching Policy will take further action to improve selectivity by introducing additional technical measures to reduce unwanted catch and tackle discarding and bycatch of sensitive marine species, which will improve sustainability. Stakeholder engagement is ongoing to explore various selectivity proposals to deliver pragmatic solutions.

In regard to Marine Fund Scotland and post project monitoring, publication of individual data is not standard practice, but the analysis of post project monitoring contributes, as part of a range of information, to Scotland’s Fisheries Management Strategy. This published strategy, in turn, informs Marine Fund Scotland assessment and will inform future decisions.

With regard to the Marine Fund Scotland, publication of individual data is not standard practice, but the analysis of post project monitoring contributes, as part of a range of information, to Scotland's Fisheries Management strategy. This, in turn, informs Marine Fund Scotland assessment and will inform future funding decisions.

The independent evaluation of the fish farm pre-application consenting pilots is in progress.

The final report had been expected in April 2025, however this timescale has been delayed to allow for the completion of the gathering and analysis of important data on the pre-application consenting pilots.

The Report is now expected to be finalised and published in the summer.

I refer the member to the answers to questions S6W-36304 on 9 April 2025 and S6W-37060 on 30 April 2025. The Scottish Government has concluded that, as the primary issue with the functioning of FMAC appears to lie with its current structure, the decision to split the FMAC group should make the group more effective and help address the issues raised within the stakeholder survey.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

The Scottish Government’s Fish Health Inspectorate (FHI) undertakes risk based aquatic animal health surveillance where Aquaculture Production Businesses are assessed against their regulatory responsibilities with respect to aquatic animal health. This includes routine and intelligence-based inspections.

The FHI monitors international trade of live fish and shellfish using import notification systems and checks on import health certificates, ensuring imports meet the aquatic animal health requirements of the Great Britain trade unit. Where significant risk of listed disease is detected official control measures can be enforced to help reduce the risk of disease introduction and spread.

The FHI’s enforcement policy, including a range of enforcement actions, is set out in its Service Charter which is available on the Scottish Government website. The Service Charter is based upon the Scottish Government’s principles of good regulation including taking a response which is proportionate to the risk posed and the seriousness of any offence.

In our response to the recent report by the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee, we committed to prioritising progress to introduce penalties for fish farm escapes in 2026-2027 and to publishing a revised Technical Standard for Scottish Finfish Aquaculture in 2027-2028.

The escape of fish from a fish farm is not a statutory offence. However, the Fish Health Inspectorate assesses whether satisfactory measures are in place on farms for the containment of fish. Where they are not, Scottish Ministers may serve an enforcement notice and failure to comply with this is an offence.

The Scottish retained Regulation No 1143/2014 on the prevention and management of the introduction and spread of invasive alien species requires that Scottish Ministers undertake a comprehensive review of the Scottish list of species of special concern before 2 August 2028 and within every six year period thereafter. The first comprehensive review of the Scottish list of species of special concern was completed in April 2022 and the next comprehensive review is due to be completed by August 2028.

Work is underway on reviewing and updating the GB and Scottish lists of species of special concern which are currently identical. While there is no confirmed timeline for the remaining stages of the listing process, this work will be completed as soon as is practicable.