Seòmar agus comataidhean

The Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity and I have not met directly with the Scottish Anglers National Association (SANA).

However, representatives of SANA were part of the stakeholder group that advised on the development of the Wild Salmon Strategy published in 2022. Since then, three Scottish angling governing bodies – SANA, the Scottish Federation for Coarse Angling and Scottish Federation of Sea Anglers - have been brought together under the umbrella of Angling Scotland. Angling Scotland now represents the interests of SANA in Marine Directorate stakeholders groups.

£14m has been made available each year under the Marine Fund Scotland (MFS).

In some cases, not all the funding made available is drawn down within the financial year by the applicant. Expenditure against awards is as follows;

2021-2022 £12.23m

2022-2023 £11.59m

2023-2024 £12.63m

2024-2025 £2.21m (This isn't for a full year, historically most payments are made in the last quarter of the financial year).

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.

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.

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. Earlier research showed that end-of-life gear is in the most part stored or sent to landfill as it is extremely difficult to recycle due to its low-value, bulky, contaminated and degraded nature. There are very few recycling facilities currently, and we have no information on how much been recycled since 2021. It is therefore a focus to improve recycling opportunities for both the fishing and aquaculture sectors.

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. Scotland 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.

In preparation for all negotiating forums, including those with the EU, Scottish Government officials prepare mandates for ministerial approval which outlines the approach and boundaries within which negotiators can work as part of the UK delegation. These mandates are treated highly confidentially and would not be appropriate for external publication to avoid undermining Scotland’s negotiating positions and protect Scottish fishing interests.