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Chamber and committees

Official Report: search what was said in Parliament

The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.  

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Dates of parliamentary sessions
  1. Session 1: 12 May 1999 to 31 March 2003
  2. Session 2: 7 May 2003 to 2 April 2007
  3. Session 3: 9 May 2007 to 22 March 2011
  4. Session 4: 11 May 2011 to 23 March 2016
  5. Session 5: 12 May 2016 to 5 May 2021
  6. Current session: 12 May 2021 to 30 June 2025
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Displaying 2114 contributions

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Rural Affairs and Islands Committee

Salmon Farming

Meeting date: 10 May 2023

Mairi Gougeon

Rhoda Grant asked me about the benefits that communities get, and I talked about the sea bed lease fees that Crown Estate Scotland receives and how those are distributed to local authorities for community benefit.

Rural Affairs and Islands Committee

Salmon Farming

Meeting date: 10 May 2023

Mairi Gougeon

Yes. We have already touched on the Scottish Science Advisory Council report and the recommendations that it provided us, which we are considering. We asked for that review specifically because of the science recommendations in Griggs’s review.

Rural Affairs and Islands Committee

Salmon Farming

Meeting date: 10 May 2023

Mairi Gougeon

Yes—absolutely. We are looking to expand the counter network so that we can get to grips with some of that data. The implementation plan is important in highlighting where that further work needs to be done on research, innovation and data collection.

We know that we cannot do that in isolation. It has not been possible for us to get all the information that we need on our own. We are working with the fisheries boards and trusts, as well. They have a vital role to play in that, and they are among the key stakeholders that make up part of the delivery group. We want to make sure that we are engaging with people, because we all have a role in helping to deliver on the recommendations.

Rural Affairs and Islands Committee

Salmon Farming

Meeting date: 10 May 2023

Mairi Gougeon

You are absolutely right. The salmon is an iconic species for Scotland, and we need to do absolutely everything that we can to prevent a further decline in its numbers. We are not holding anything up in trying to address the challenges that we face. The stage that we are at now is based on the work that we have done in trying to identify what the key pressures on wild salmon are. That is why we published the wild salmon strategy and then published the implementation plan.

It is all very well to have a strategy, but we need to deliver on what we set out in it. That is where the 60 recommendations are key, and that is why having a delivery group, which will ensure that we deliver against those recommendations, will play a really critical part, as well. The group has already had its first meeting and, as I have said, we will report annually on where we are at with each of the recommendations.

You talked about innovation. That is really important. That is why we support innovation and fund it. Through the marine fund Scotland, we have provided about £7 million-worth of funding for innovation and technology. We also work with the likes of the Sustainable Aquaculture Innovation Centre, which gets funding through the Scottish Funding Council and takes forward a number of important projects.

We are therefore not holding anything up. We want to address the challenges that we know salmon farming faces, but some of them are more difficult to deal with. There is the impact of climate change, and there are all the other challenges that it faces. That is why it is important that we try to take action on all those fronts and do what we can to meet the challenges that we know exist.

Rural Affairs and Islands Committee

Salmon Farming

Meeting date: 10 May 2023

Mairi Gougeon

Yes, absolutely. We have seen that through the voluntary reporting of data. Obviously, we have some regulatory and mandatory requirements of the industry, but, using mortalities as an example, the industry has voluntarily published that information by the percentage and cause of mortalities. Industry is also looking at—I am sure that officials will correct me if I am wrong—its community engagement, the code of practice on that and how it can better do that. Although I have outlined some of the actions that we have taken on the overall holistic picture and the consideration of the various issues in the round, and I have talked about the role of SEPA and regulation in that, I think that industry is making those changes on the basis of the various voluntary information that it has provided. We collect all that information, and the Scotland’s Aquaculture website is an example of where we have tried to pull all of that information together.

Rural Affairs and Islands Committee

Salmon Farming

Meeting date: 10 May 2023

Mairi Gougeon

On the use of antibiotics, Jill Barber touched on the on-going work in the consultation on the use of emamectin benzoate. Anything that is used has to be within the environmental limits and standards that are in place. Again, that is where the work of the farmed fish health framework has been really important. That group is chaired by the chief vet, and treatment is a theme of the work. If the committee would like more detail on the work that the group is undertaking on antibiotics, I will be happy to provide that.

Rural Affairs and Islands Committee

Salmon Farming

Meeting date: 10 May 2023

Mairi Gougeon

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Rural Affairs and Islands Committee

Subordinate Legislation

Meeting date: 15 March 2023

Mairi Gougeon

I also point out that, in its negotiations with New Zealand, the EU is looking at similar changes with greater flexibility with regard to, for example, the percentage of the grape variety that should be on the label.

Rural Affairs and Islands Committee

Subordinate Legislation

Meeting date: 15 March 2023

Mairi Gougeon

There is what is set out in the Government’s legislative programme, obviously. You will have seen the debate on the legislative consent motion that took place in the Parliament yesterday, and this instrument is coming forward, but I will ask Kevin Matheson to say whether we expect any more, particularly in relation to food and drink.

Rural Affairs and Islands Committee

Subordinate Legislation

Meeting date: 15 March 2023

Mairi Gougeon

It also provides more clarity and transparency on the percentage of alcohol, which the lower-alcohol-volume producers have also welcomed. Other varieties can be used to up the consistency of the wine product, but producers on both sides have welcomed that.