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Transport Scotland publishes the results of all regulated procurements through contract award notices on the Public Contracts Scotland website. In addition to the award of contracts, we also apply this requirement to call-off contracts awarded under framework agreements including the contracts placed under Multiple Supplier Framework Agreement for Maritime Consultancy Services.

Specialist support will be provided by Scottish Governments Subsidy Control Team as and when required to complete the necessary due diligence on potential “Teckal” direct award.

Our commitment of up to £500 million strategic investment over the next five years, with investment of £67 million in the next financial year, will allow the Scottish Government to capitalise on offshore wind supply chain opportunities across the country.

This commercial and grant investment will help stimulate and support private investment in the infrastructure and manufacturing facilities critical to the growth of our world-leading offshore wind sector, underlining our absolute determination to truly maximise the economic opportunities and benefits from our offshore wind potential.

The Scottish Government continues to work closely with the UK Government on the planned delivery for their Advanced Manufacturing Plan which outlines £960 million for a Green Industries Growth Accelerator focused on expanding manufacturing capacity across the country.

Our National Strategy for Economic Transformation (NSET) also sets out our ambition for Scotland to continue to take global leadership in the design, development and operationalisation within the renewables sector.

Our Making Scotland’s Future (MSF) programme helps ensure a coherent and focused approach to the provision of support to the manufacturing sector.

Centred within the MSF lies the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland which represents investment of £75 million from the Scottish Government and its agencies to which drives an industry-led research and development group with the mission to make Scotland a global leader in advanced, sustainable manufacturing.

In 2019 the Scottish Government strengthened its regulation of sea lice on fish farms by reducing the levels of sea lice per fish at which the Fish Health Inspectorate (FHI) increases monitoring of sea lice on a farm, or takes enforcement action. The Fish Farming Businesses (Reporting) (Scotland) Order 2020 introduced, for the first time, mandatory obligations on production businesses to report average sea lice numbers per fish on a weekly basis. This better supports the Fish Health Inspectorate’s assessment of whether satisfactory measures for the prevention, control or reduction of sea lice are in place. The data is published one week in arrears to promote transparency.

Mortality reporting was introduced in 2015 and I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-24419 on 22 January 2024. From 2020 the FHI have altered their operational practice in relation to risk based surveillance and fish farm inspections, whereby inspectors will review documentation remotely in advance of onsite inspections, enabling inspectors to spend more time inspecting fish and farm operation.

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 is committed to exploring increasing the Scottish aquaculture sector’s adoption of new and innovative technologies which achieve both positive environmental and health and welfare outcomes, including the potential use of semi and closed containment systems, as stated in our Vision for Sustainable Aquaculture , published in July 2023.

In 2021 the Scottish Government, via the Marine Fund Scotland, awarded £2 million to a four-year project led by Bakkafrost Scotland (the then Scottish Salmon Company) to apply research and development as well as innovative husbandry to the rearing of larger salmon smolts in Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS). This underlines our commitment to supporting innovation and also promoting advances in areas which will contribute to the sector’s sustainable growth. These and similar developments will create new rural jobs and benefit local and wider economies.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) encourages new innovative techniques to reduce overall fish farm emissions through its application charging scheme. For example, where an operator shows the new site will reduce emissions by 80%+ then the application charges will be reduced by 50%.

The Fish Farming Businesses (Reporting) (Scotland) Order 2020 places a legal requirement for aquaculture production businesses to report average sea lice numbers per fish per week to Scottish Ministers.

The Aquatic Animal Health (Scotland) Regulations 2009 place a legal obligation for increased mortality to be reported to Scottish Ministers or a veterinarian. This applies to unexplained mortality, and there is a voluntary agreement in place with aquaculture production businesses for any instances of mortality above specified thresholds to be reported to Scottish Ministers as part of wider aquatic animal health surveillance. This agreement is a requirement of the Code of Good Practice for Scottish Finfish Aquaculture.

Gill health is a term used to describe a category of conditions which have a detrimental impact on fish gills and is not a single disease. The Aquatic Animal Health (Scotland) Regulations 2009 place an obligation for the presence or suspected presence of listed diseases, some of which affect gill health, to notify to Scottish Ministers.

There is no obligation to report fish wellbeing which has no specific definition. The Fish Health Inspectorate will raise any concerns regarding fish welfare with the Animal and Plant Health Agency which is responsible for investigating potential breaches in welfare law.

The following data relates to information held by the Scottish Government on Aquaculture Production Businesses (APB) and authorisation to operate under regulation 6 of the Aquatic Animal Health (Scotland) Regulations 2009 for animal health purposes only.

How many finfish aquaculture sites have (a) been closed and (c) surrendered their licence since 1 January 2018:

• There have been 25 finfish aquaculture farm sites de-registered and no longer in operation;
• There have been 57 finfish aquaculture farm sites inactivated as they are either in long term fallow or there are no current plans to stock them, although the APB may still be in operation;
• There have been 15 finfish APBs de-registered, no longer in operation which have surrendered authorisation to operate;
• There have been 15 finfish APBs which are registered as non-producing businesses, and have no farm sites in operation, which have surrendered authorisation to operate.
• How many finfish aquaculture sites have (b) had their licence withdrawn since 1 January 2018 (withdrawn being interpreted by the Fish Health Inspectorate (FHI) as removal by the competent authority for enforcement purposes):
• There have been no finfish aquaculture farm sites which have been withdrawn from an APB’s authorisation to operate;
• There have been no finfish APBs which have had their authorisation to operate withdrawn.
• The reasons for any aquaculture site ceasing to operate are a decision made by the commercial company operating the site and are not available to the FHI.

Aquaculture producers may operate a range of community funds and finance schemes to which local communities can apply. Scottish Government does not routinely collect or hold the details of individual contracts and funds.

Crown Estate Scotland has a remit to generate lasting value for Scotland from the natural resources in its care. Rents due from aquaculture leases granted by CES were reviewed in 2022 and following that “root and branch” review they have recently increased. Further information on the review and aquaculture rents is available on Crown Estate Scotland’s website: Root and branch review of aquaculture leasing complete | Crown Estate Scotland