Chamber and committees

What I was talking about, particularly in response to the previous question, was the data transition requirements. However, if there was a force majeure incident—if something catastrophic happened that was outwith the master’s control—we have exemption provisions to enable us to deal with that.

I disagree with that. We have set out how the technical specifications were developed. In my opening remarks, I mentioned the constant innovation that is happening in our fisheries, which is important to note. When things such as VMS and e-logs have been developed and introduced, ancillary services have also grown. REM has been rolled out on a voluntary basis since 2017 and it is developing and growing elsewhere in the world. As we and other nations look to introduce those measures, other skills and ancillary services will be built at the same time. In essence, we have been in the same position before with other technologies and, because of what has been rolled out so far, we do not anticipate that there will be too many difficulties with it. I think that we will continue to see growth in the sector in the future.

All of that is set out in the regulations. Regulation 17 deals with the automatic transmission of data. It sets out that the data should be automatically uploaded, the timescale in which that must be done and the length of time for which the data must be kept.

That comes back to a discussion that we had at the start of the meeting, about the other benefits that can come from REM. I outlined how it is important for compliance and enforcement, and I talked about the reputational benefits and what we have heard from retailers. There is also a lot of benefit to be gained from the data that we will gather.

We can also use the evidence for fisheries management. Sound fisheries management is underpinned by robust scientific evidence, and the more data that we have, the more confidence we can have in that information, which in turn means that we can be more confident in the management decisions that we make.

As I said in response to a previous question, as we see the regulations bed in and as we start to develop a wider picture, the benefits will develop, too.

It is important to highlight that ICES is also looking at incorporating REM data. That is at a very early stage, because REM is not widespread in most other countries. However, its use is only going to grow in the future.

We will utilise that data. As I outlined, it helps to underpin decisions that we might make. I have set out a number of times the ways in which that data can be beneficial to us, and its benefits are going to grow as the regulations bed in. We will glean a lot of helpful information from REM data. We can also use it to gather information for marine spatial planning.

Yes, I do. I will bring in Jane MacPherson in a moment. I have already outlined the rationale as to why we have introduced the regulations, and the rationale is also quite clearly set out in the BRIA that we have published. We set out why we want to introduce REM and the other benefits that can come from it.

We do not have that information at the moment.

Yes. Sorry; I will bring Jane in on that point.

I am afraid that I am not able to provide a timescale for that at present.

You raise a really important point, and I know that it has been raised in consultation and discussions that we have had with different stakeholders. Ensuring that we have a level playing field is critical, and that is what I believe we have achieved through the draft regulations. Scottish vessels and foreign vessels fishing in Scottish waters will all have to adhere to the regulations, as we have set out. I believe that we have a level playing field now.