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We set up the Fisheries Management and Conservation (FMAC) Climate Change Subgroup in early 2023 to help guide us and to build our knowledge and understanding of both climate mitigation and adaptation. The group is formed of industry reps, eNGOs, academia, as well as organisations such as Seafish and Fisheries Innovation and Sustainability.

We will work with the subgroup to understand what options for reducing emissions from fishing can be taken in the short, medium and long-term and develop a plan of actions.

The expenditure budget allocated for fisheries harbour grants in 2025-2026 has been maintained at £500,000, the apparent reduction relates to the treatment of financial transactions income which will not impact on the funding available to harbours.

It was not possible within the timeframe to produce data for 2021 to 2023. This is because of the way the data was previously processed and would require manual analysis of all reports to distil the correct data. As part of our business improvement strategy in 2024 we developed a new analytical process to improve efficiency by removing manual checks.

In 2024 there were 798 breaches of the catch composition rules. They were all UK vessels, 96% of which were Scottish registered.

This offence is particularly difficult to detect and gather sufficient evidence to prosecute. The Landing Obligation requires all fish which is subject to a Total Allowable Catch (TAC) are landed, this makes it difficult to comply with requirements to catch minimum quantities of target species, especially in mixed fisheries.

Under the Future Catching Policy (FCP), we will take firm measures to increase selectivity by introducing additional technical measures to reduce unwanted catch, working with stakeholders to explore and deliver solutions.

The Marine Fund Scotland (MFS) is focused on supporting projects that deliver outcomes relating to Scotland's Blue Economy Vision. This aims to support projects & investments that are innovative, entrepreneurial, productive and internationally competitive; resilient to climate change, contributing to climate change mitigation and adaption; to achieve marine sectors which are decarbonised, resource efficient and supporting Scotland's Net Zero commitments.

An example of the innovative circular economy approaches that this funding supports include projects such as Tiny Fish LTD, who won the Global Seafood Alliance 2024 Responsible Seafood Innovation Award. This project is finding unique markets for juvenile salmon that are removed from hatcheries prior to transfer of the best fish to sea pens. It received grant funding support via the MFS of over £118,000.

The Marine Fund Scotland (MFS) provides support to new entrants through the young fishers grant funding. Since 2021 the MFS has awarded 37 young fishers over £2.5m grant to enable them to purchase their first fishing vessel (or share in a vessel).

Scotland’s approach to annual fisheries negotiations is informed by the best available evidence, taking into account scientific advice, socioeconomic factors, and the dynamics of fisheries. Our key priority throughout negotiations is always to protect Scottish interests by securing sustainable catching opportunities. Officials engaged closely with colleagues in UK Government in the lead up to and throughout the negotiations, to discuss the scientific advice and negotiating approaches. The Scottish Government continued to play an active role in the UK delegation throughout negotiations, striving to be a constructive partner, and seeking balanced agreements to protect Scottish interests.

The majority of our annual fisheries negotiations with the EU and Coastal State partners, to set catch limits and management measures for jointly managed stocks in 2025, have now concluded. We will issue a letter to the Scottish Parliament’s Rural Affairs and Islands Committee in early 2025 to outline the outcome of all of the negotiations, including the potential benefits these can bring to Scotland.

The Scottish Government has prioritised improving the collection and recycling of end-of-life fishing and aquaculture gear in our Marine Litter Strategy published in 2022 in order to protect our environment from plastic pollution and support the growth of our circular economy. There are currently very few relevant recycling facilities in Scotland or the rest of the UK due to the low-value, bulky, contaminated and degraded nature of the waste. We are therefore working across the four nations to increase more sustainable waste management opportunities, coordinating our research and policy analysis and we will work with industry towards effective solutions in the long term.

Details of gear theft and vandalism which were reported to Marine Directorate.

The Scottish Government conducted an internal review and mapping exercise of port waste reception facilities relevant to the fishing sector in Scotland in both 2023 and 2024 in order to inform future policy development. Of the 18 main ports and harbours surveyed, nine of these have dedicated collection facilities for the disposal of end-of-life fishing gear. The provision of adequate waste facilities available to all vessels, including fishing vessels, encourages responsible disposal behaviour. Information on the individual numbers of fishing vessels using these facilities was not collected.

The Scottish Government is using its legislation and policies to maximise the impact procurement can have for public bodies, local suppliers and the Scottish economy.

To promote local and sustainable produce public bodies have the flexibility to:

Design menus that include Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) Food;
Specify food produced according to recognised assurance schemes, e.g. Quality Meat Scotland, MSC, Red Tractor, RSPCA, or equivalent bespoke company systems;

While public bodies are responsible for their own procurement decisions, the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014, which came into force on 18 April 2016, proposes a range of opportunities to increase the quality and provenance of food and drink procured. The key opportunity is in relation to the form and content for public bodies’ procurement strategies in which they must set out their policy on the procurement of food. Under the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014, a public body with an annual procurement spend of at least £5 million must report each year on how, its procurements improve the economic, social and environmental well-being of an area and facilitate access to procurement for SMEs, the third sector and supported businesses. Statutory Guidance published under the Act, sets out this requirement in more detail.

The Scottish Government is also providing Marine Fund Scotland funding towards Seafood Scotland’s “Market Development Project”, which involves work to ensure Scottish seafood’s profile grows in UK markets. This includes specific activity with various stakeholders throughout the supply chain to look at ways of increasing consumption of Scottish seafood in public procurement settings.