Chamber and committees

I would not want you to think that I was just majoring on the islands, because connectivity issues affect people across rural areas.

With regard to fisheries science, you will be aware that some members of the committee visited the science labs in Aberdeen a couple of weeks ago. The visit was very useful—we met some dedicated personnel there, and it was good to see the work that they were doing. I have to confess, though, that I was somewhat surprised at the condition of the buildings and the environment in which they were working, and I wondered if that was having an impact on their ability to deal with their workload and the data and evidence gathering.

The Government is carrying out a statutory review of national outcomes, and it says that it will create a more successful country with opportunities for all of Scotland to flourish. Will you outline how the specific needs of, and opportunities for, rural communities are being considered in the review and how the national outcomes will help rural communities to flourish?

Digital inclusion is key across a range of national outcomes, from education and learning to healthcare, culture, equality and human rights. However, compared with people in urban areas, people in rural and island areas experience a wider digital divide. I recently heard from a constituent who has been told that she will not be connected to fibre broadband until 2028, which is many years after the Scottish Government’s original deadline under the reaching 100 per cent—R100—programme. How is that issue being taken into account in the revised national outcomes? How will that work help to tackle the digital divide?

The things that concern fishermen include the spatial squeeze, which is significant around the North Sea; the competition that is being faced with renewables such as offshore wind; and developments in the blue economy. Are those things impacting the work that is being done for the fisheries management plans?

Good morning. I would like to ask about fisheries management plans. The fisheries policy authorities are to jointly publish individual fisheries management plans, or FMPs—there are always initials and abbreviations. There is a list of 22 that are being led by the marine directorate, and they need to be published by the end of 2024. DEFRA published its first five FMPs for England and Wales in December 2023. What progress is being made on the fisheries management plan for Scottish waters?

Will you expand a wee bit on what the challenges are for all the Administrations?

It has been a really interesting round-table discussion so far, and I am looking forward to hearing more views on issues that are so important to us all, given that we live on an island.

Compliance and enforcement accounts for the largest proportional share of the marine directorate’s budget, as we heard from Elaine Whyte. From 2009-10 to 2022-23, compliance and enforcement accounted for an average of 37 per cent of the marine directorate’s budget. In responding to a question during the committee’s pre-budget scrutiny in October 2022, the cabinet secretary said:

“If I had an unlimited budget, it would be great to invest more money in more vessels for enforcement.”—[Official Report, Rural Affairs, Islands and Natural Environment Committee, 5 October 2022; c 20.]

I would like to hear witnesses’ views on the marine directorate’s compliance and enforcement capabilities. Is the current approach to compliance and enforcement cost-effective?

One of the things that we heard about during the discussion about remote electronic monitoring was how the marine directorate would ensure compliance by non-Scottish vessels. It was highlighted that approximately 150 non-UK vessels are fishing for pelagic species in Scottish waters throughout the year. Does anybody have a comment on that?

Okay.