Seòmar agus comataidhean

A domestic commercial fishing licence provides a general authority to fish within the UK Exclusive Economic Zone (UK EEZ). UK Fisheries Administrations operate a restrictive licensing scheme, this means that a regulatory ceiling is maintained on the total fleet capacity (engine power - kilowatts and registered tonnage).

Individual licenses have attached a defined value of tonnage and kilowatts which may be transferred (moved to another vessel/owner), detached from a vessel and placed on an entitlement document, aggregated or disaggregated. There can be multiple changes involved in one licence transaction, for example, transfer of vessel and/or licence between owners or Fisheries Administration and a change of vessel name.

Fishers also trade licence commodities across the UK market. It is important to note that this happens externally to the Scottish Government (and likewise the other UK fisheries policy authorities) and as such we do not ascribe a monetary value and do not participate in any financial transaction.

For the reasons detailed above recorded licence transactions do not directly correlate with the Scottish fleet and fishing method data provided in table 41 of the Scottish Sea Fisheries Statistics series of publications.

We have provided the number of Scottish recorded licence transactions by year:

Takeaway meal containers (lunch boxes) and single use coffee cups in the Garden Level Restaurant are fully compostable, made from a fibrous by product of sugar cane.  Single use coffee cups at the coffee bar are made from paper, paperboard and recyclable materials and are designed for industrial composting.

Compostable items are placed in the food waste bins located throughout the building and are taken by a commercial food waste recycling company to the Anaerobic Digestion Plant at Millerhill just outside Edinburgh.

19 tonnes of food and compostable packaging were taken to the Anaerobic Digestion Plant at Millerhill in 2024/25. This represents 26% of our operational waste stream.

For the period of April 2024-March 2025, 36% of hot beverages sold were served in single use cups. And for the same period, 31% of sales made in the Garden Level Restaurant were in single use lunch boxes.

In partnership with our catering supplier we are implementing many measures to reduce the consumption of single use disposable items such as;

• continuation of the disposable hot drink cup charge to encourage colleagues to use their reuseable cups.
• Removal of disposable cutlery and placing collection caddies at each tea point to return metal cutlery back to the kitchen for cleaning
• Introduction of reusable take away food containers and various campaigns to encourage uptake.
• Actively exploring further options to support reusables and educating users on environmental benefits
• Holding a stock of reuseable hot drink cups for customers on a return basis
  

More information about our Sustainability Plan including waste minimisation is available on our website Sustainability | Scottish Parliament Website.

Enforcement of the ban on single-use plastics is undertaken by local authority enforcement officers. Enforcement officers are authorised by local authorities to exercise powers in the Regulations in order to determine whether an offence is being committed. This includes the power to enter premises to investigate. The full powers are contained in Regulation 15.

Enforcement officers report cases to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, who are responsible for prosecuting the offences in the Regulations.

The Environmental Protection (Injurious Articles) (Fixed Penalty Notices and Miscellaneous Amendments) (Scotland) Regulations 2025 also make provision for a fixed penalty notice procedure in relation to offences under the Environmental Protection (Single-use Plastic Products) (Scotland) Regulations 2021.

Research into the implementation of the Environmental Protection (Single-use Plastic Products) (Scotland) Regulations 2021 is nearing completion and will be published in the near future.

The Scottish Government is undertaking a wide range of actions to tackle single use plastics and plastic packaging beyond the Environmental Protection (Single Use Plastics Products) (Scotland) Regulations 2021.

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for packaging is being implemented this year on a four nations basis. It will move the full cost of dealing with packaging waste from households away from local taxpayers and councils to the producers, applying the ‘polluter-pays principle. Packaging EPR will also incentivise businesses to reduce excess packaging, to design and use packaging that is easily recyclable, and encourage use of reusable and refillable packaging.

We are also working closely with industry and the other UK governments to introduce a Deposit Return Scheme for single use PET plastic and metal drinks containers in October 2027. The introduction of the scheme will help to reduce litter, increase recycling, and will make a contribution to a more circular economy.

Scotland was the first part of the UK to introduce legislation to prohibit the sale and supply of single-use vapes. From litter on our streets, to the risk of fires in waste facilities, single-use vapes are an increasing issue, with up to 26 million disposable vapes consumed and thrown away in Scotland in 2023. The Environmental Protection (Single-Use Vapes) (Scotland) Regulations will ban these environmentally harmful products in Scotland from 1st June 2025.

The Scottish Government has also consulted on a proposal to introduce a minimum charge on single-use drinks cups to tackle the significant environmental impact of these items. Proposals were developed with input from a diverse advisory group, including business, retail, equalities groups, consumer groups, and local authorities.

Finally, we are working across the four nations to put an end to pollution caused by wet wipes containing plastic, with legislation forthcoming.

It is not possible to provide all incidences where either REM or VMS indicated that a scallop vessel fished inside a nature conservation area since 2014. Our retention policy for camera data is one year and for position data as long as we feel necessary as per our privacy notice REM privacy statement found at: Remote Electronic Monitoring ("REM") systems on fishing vessels (2024): Privacy Notice - Fishing - remote electronic monitoring: privacy notice - gov.scot. We also do not have access to VMS data going back to 2014.

We can provide the number of detected cases submitted for enforcement action where VMS and/or REM was the initial method of detection since 2020.

2020 – 1

2021 – 2

2022 – 2

2023 – 2 (note these were for incursion into the Mull Crab box, designated to protect crab stocks)

2024 – 1

Following the FMAC review last year it is apparent that the structure and membership of the group was making co-management ineffective and the FMAC group has therefore been split. The new structure will still allow industry, environmental and other groups to contribute to policy development and delivery, and the different groups can engage together on an ad-hoc basis as needed to exchange views. This will still enable co-management to take place and will help different groups to engage productively, even though not all voices will be in the same room.

Assessing fisheries stock health and management is a complex issue and there are many metrics against which sustainability can be evaluated. The sustainability reports published by the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture (CEFAS) cover stocks across the UK. However, the most relevant evaluation for fish stocks within Scottish waters is the Sustainable Fishing Indicator (SFI), which is published by the Scottish Government as part of the National Performance Framework.

Whilst the Cefas report covers all UK waters, the SFI is specific to the sustainability status of commercial fish and shellfish stocks present in Scottish waters. Additionally, while both reports take into account stock biomass, they consider fisheries management in different ways. The Cefas report defines a complex list of management criteria, and stocks must pass all of these in order to be considered sustainable. The SFI looks at actual fishing pressure, and instead of using a pass/fail approach, it provides a sliding scale for how sustainable fishing levels are in the real world. We consider this to be best way to assess how sustainable fishing is in reality in Scotland.

The SFI shows that the sustainability status of stocks in Scottish waters has increased through time, from 39% in 1995 to 73% in 2023. This positive trend is reflective of improved fisheries management and more responsible fishing practices, and is particularly notable during a period when warming in Scottish waters might be expected to be reducing stocks.

It is important to work within environmental limits, managing sustainably to support future generations and safeguarding the diversity of the marine ecosystem. The Scottish Government takes this responsibility seriously, and our approach to fisheries management is underpinned by the best available scientific information.

This is an important principle when it comes to setting annual catch limits for fish stocks. These are agreed with Coastal State partners through a series of annual negotiations, with the Scottish Government playing an active part in the UK delegation. Throughout the negotiations, Scotland fully supports following the scientific advice and setting fishing opportunities that are consistent with the Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) approach wherever appropriate. However, setting an MSY-based catch limit is not always possible, and it is sometimes more appropriate, for the stock and for fishing industries, to set a TAC above or below the headline scientific advice.

For both 2024 and 2025, catch limits for 33 out of the 41 key Scottish stocks were set at or below the headline scientific advice and/or the MSY level. Scientists from Scotland and from our neighbouring Coastal States provided advice to managers throughout the negotiations, and the best available evidence was used as the basis for decisions.

Technical workshops on the Future Catching Policy were completed in autumn last year, with a combination of industry and eNGO input across all fleet segments. The proposals for future technical measures are being finalised and further engagement with stakeholders will take place prior to the formal consultation later this year.

The Scottish Government has allocated £123 million to Health Boards this year to improve the quality and delivery of mental health and psychological services, including neurodevelopmental services, for both adults and Children and Young People.

We are taking steps to ensure local services are supported and we engage regularly with NHS boards regarding their provision of support for neurodivergent people.

For children and young people, we are working closely with NHS Boards and local authorities towards implementing the National Neurodevelopmental Specification for Children and Young People in full. This will help ensure that children and families receive the support and access to services that meet their needs at the earliest opportunity.

We have also commissioned the National Autism Implementation Team to support NHS Boards to develop, enhance and redesign adult neurodevelopmental services. NHS Highland was one of four NHS Boards funded by the Scottish Government to trial adult neurodevelopmental pathways in 2022.

The Scottish Government is aware of the research by the University of Cambridge and the University of the Highlands and Islands and recognises that the use of lead in ammunition continues to pose risks to human health, wildlife, and the environment. We prioritised work under assimilated law in 2021 to propose a restriction for lead in ammunition, in agreement with the Welsh and UK Governments, to address these ongoing risks.

We have been working with UK and Welsh Governments to reach a decision following the publication of the Health and Safety Executive’s Opinion on this restriction proposal in December 2024. Once a decision has been agreed between the UK Government, Scottish, and Welsh Ministers, the UK Government will publish a decision report on its website. The Secretary of State must then seek the consent of Scottish and Welsh Ministers to a UK statutory instrument to make this decision law.