Chamber and committees

I want to check that I understand this fully. Environmental management plans still exist, but they are gradually falling into disuse.

To be honest, to the layman, that sounds a bit woolly. It sounds as if there is probably something coming down the line that will, in effect, replace the environmental management plans. That has not arrived yet and you do not know the full form that it will take, but, gradually, the environmental management plans will not be used anymore.

Ronan O’Hara, do you have any input?

Yes.

Red tape has been a big issue. It has come up in relation to the seafood trade, for example. Because of administration problems, the UK Government recently postponed the bringing in of additional red tape for fruit and vegetables that come from the EU, but it still intends to bring it in next year. What hope is there, therefore, of reducing the red tape for our fisheries industry?

Will there be an opportunity to widen the discussions to cover things such as labour shortages?

Do you have a feel for when the renegotiation might start or when some progress might be seen?

I have a few questions about the trade and co-operation agreement between the UK and the EU—we cannot seem to get away from Brexit and such things. The agreement covers a lot of different issues about fishing, such as quotas, days at sea and so on. The transitional arrangements that were agreed come to an end in 2026 and there seems to be the potential for renegotiating the fisheries arrangements.

First, to what extent was the Scottish Government involved in the negotiations on the original agreement, which resulted in the transitional arrangements being put in place? Secondly, have there been discussions with the new UK Government on the priorities of Scottish fishermen and the involvement of the Scottish Government in the negotiations? Fisheries is a much bigger issue in Scotland than it is south of the border, so it would be appropriate for us to be involved.

My first question was about the original agreement. Was the Scottish Government involved in the negotiations on that?

The transitional arrangements finish in 2026. Are there any implications for Scottish fisheries as a result of that? Are there any little attachments that we should know about, or will it be straightforward?