Chamber and committees

We also took evidence from the consul general about the sanctions that are being imposed on Russia. I am interested to hear a bit more about the Scottish Government’s position on that.

Last night we passed the legislative consent motion on the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Bill, which is passing through Westminster. I have had constituents get in touch with me about shell companies laundering money, on which I appreciate the power is reserved, but also about businesses trading with Russia and how we can change their situations, or encourage them to do so.

You said in your previous answers that you listened to stakeholders, including the scientists, fishers and environmentalists. You also said that you acknowledged different positions on the issue and took action according to those views and the evidence. What lessons would you draw from the process and look to apply in the future?

Mr Gibb, you mentioned that you are doing a piece of work that involves looking at the records of your vessels and discussing with the fishers how to marry the two up. Could you expand on that, please?

I am pleased to hear that.

It sounds as though that would pull together all the different voices to get a much more balanced approach in advising the Government what its policy should be.

I have found this process incredibly difficult. I represent Argyll and Bute, which is one of the constituencies that are impacted by the decision. I have thought long and hard about this. I have spoken to all the communities that are impacted, and it is clear that we have to strike the right balance between sustainability of stocks and sustainability of communities. What the Government and Marine Scotland have done in relation to the process could have been better, but they have listened to what stakeholders have said.

I agree entirely with what my colleague Ariane Burgess said about ensuring that we continue to pull the right people around the table and listen to them. I appreciate that there are polarised views, but we have to come to some agreement and strike the right balance to ensure the sustainability of the fish and the communities. I will vote against the motion to annul.

I am interested to hear how the Scottish Government could improve current scientific evidence, data collection and monitoring to support future closures and inshore fisheries management more widely. Moving on a wee bit, we have heard a bit about evidence collection. Scientific research costs money, so I am interested to know what additional resources the Scottish Government would benefit from being allocated in relation to its ability to support opportunities for future research.

Would Dr Needle like to add a bit more on the University of Stirling PhD work and collaboration with fishers?

Thank you, Sarah, for coming along. It must be quite daunting to be the only person on the panel, so congratulations for being here.

To follow on from Donald Cameron’s questions, I am also interested in the SPRING project. Healthy Options Oban, which is in my constituency, is involved in the project and does fantastic work.

You talked a bit about collaboration. Can you give us any more information about the fact that the project is a collaboration between Scottish and Northern Irish groups and how that has worked? Perhaps there is something that we can learn from the fact that the funding is coming from different sources.

Thank you.