Chamber and committees

Our next item of business is consideration of whether to take in private agenda item 5, under which we will consider our approach to pre-budget scrutiny. Do members agree to take that agenda item in private?

Members indicated agreement.

Thank you.

Can I just ask again: who has overall responsibility for wild salmon? You are talking not about wild salmon per se but about the water environment. Who is actually looking after those salmon? The fish health directorate said that it was SEPA, as part of your regulatory role. Who really takes command of the whole wild salmon area rather than just the water environment?

I presume that your approach to aquaculture is no different from your approach to any other sector, such as agriculture, where your main route to a better environment is through encouraging compliance rather than through enforcement. Does that equally apply to aquaculture as it does to other sectors?

That concludes our business in public.

Just as you have a duty of care for the fish that you inspect, I have a duty of care for my witnesses, and I am very aware that we are quickly running out of time. I ask members to keep their questions as succinct as possible. Emma Harper has a brief supplementary question, then we will move to a further question from Rhoda Grant.

Thank you.

We will kick off the questions with a nice straightforward question, you will be pleased to hear. Can you briefly outline the key functions of the fish health inspectorate and how you work and interact with industry, the Scottish Government and other regulators?

Okay. We have a question from Emma Roddick.

We are going to have to move on.

Have you seen any other powers change since 2918?