Salmon farmers welcome ‘deeper understanding’ of sector's value

Two Orkney salmon farmers have welcomed a “reassuring” message from Scottish Government minister Màiri McAllan, who visited Kirkwall this week following her decision last month to scrap a plan to create Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMAs) which would have excluded fishing and aquaculture from 10% of the country’s seas.

Scottish Sea Farms’ head of environment Chris Webb and Cooke Aquaculture Scotland’s environment chief Ben Johnson joined a meeting that Net Zero Secretary McAllan held with Orkney Fisheries Association and Orkney Islands Council as part of ongoing engagement to find a new way forward on enhancing marine protection.

The salmon companies, both major employers in Orkney, had not initially been invited to the meeting and only found out that it was taking place after being informed by the Orkney Fisheries Association. They were each given a seat at the table after asking to be involved. Fish Farming Export understands that the Scottish Government was originally planning to hold separate meetings with the fishing and aquaculture sectors but then decided to merge the two. It then received requests from SSF and Cooke before it had the opportunity to invite them to the merged meeting.

Very worthwhile

Despite the mix-up with the meeting, SSF’s Webb said the round-table discussion proved very worthwhile.

“It was reassuring to hear directly from the Cabinet Secretary herself that both fishing and aquaculture are looked upon favourably by the Scottish Government and that there’s now a much deeper understanding of how important these sectors are not just to local businesses but to whole communities,” he said.

“Similarly, it was good to have it confirmed in person that proposals to designate at least 10% of Scotland’s waters as HPMAs will no longer be progressed in their current form, as has been widely covered in the media.

“Without doubt, there is still a nervousness across marine sectors as to what might be proposed in place of HPMAs. However, based on the discussions, there does seem to be a greater appreciation of the need for early engagement and evidence-based decision-making.

“With this in mind, what we would dearly love to see next is more data, measurement and analysis of the effectiveness of Scotland’s existing MPA (Marine Protected Areas) network.”

MPAs cover 37% of Scotland’s seas but do not impose the almost complete ban on human activities that HPMAs would entail.

Data and analysis

Cooke Scotland’s communications manager, Murray Spooner, said: “Cooke Aquaculture Scotland was encouraged to hear aquaculture is looked upon favourably by the Scottish Government and it recognises the importance of listening to local communities rather than imposing unwanted policies such as HPMAs which have caused grave alarm in the most vulnerable and remote communities in Scotland.

“It was also reassuring there is now a deeper understanding of how important these sectors are to local businesses and whole communities and to hear from the Cabinet Secretary who stated that her current focus was on completing the MPA network. We look forward to seeing more data and analysis of the existing MPA network which is needed ahead of bringing in new extreme policies such as HPMAs.

“Cooke Aquaculture Scotland did express disappointment that the aquaculture sector was not initially invited to the round table. It is inappropriate for our sector, which delivers a £760 million boost for the Scottish economy, with the supply chain further supporting 10,000 jobs in every part of Scotland, to be excluded. We thank the Orkney Fisheries Association for alerting us to this meeting and thank the Cabinet Secretary for her time during discussions in Kirkwall this week.”

Local engagement

In a statement after her visit her Wednesday, McAllan said: “I am pleased to have met with representatives of the local fishing and aquaculture industries and Orkney Islands Council to discuss how we can work together on marine conservation. I welcome coastal and island communities across Scotland bringing their ideas on how we can work together to improve marine protection.

“As I said in parliament recently, it is very important to me that people who will be affected by policies are engaged in their development. I am determined to protect our oceans in a way that is fair and to find a way forward that ensures our seas remain a source of prosperity for the nation, especially in our remote, coastal and island communities.”

HPMAs were part of the Bute House Agreement between the Scottish National Party and the Scottish Green Party. The agreement gave the Greens influence over policy in return for supporting the minority SNP administration in the Scottish Parliament.

SNP rebellion

The plans to introduce HPMAs were hugely controversial and led to three SNP MSPs including former Cabinet Secretaries Kate Forbes and Fergus Ewing voting against their party and three others abstaining in a vote on the issue.

A consultation about HPMAs prompted 4,000 responses amid fears that the proposals would destroy fragile coastal communities that rely on fishing and aquaculture. Ewing described the consultation document as “a notice of execution” for fishing communities.

A seafood alliance representing the fishing, fish farming, and processing sectors was formed to fight HPMAs, and launched a petition against the Scottish Government's proposals.

McAllan announced that HPMAs “will not be progressed” on June 29. She said the Scottish Government would take more time to work with industry, communities, and conservation organisations to enhance marine protection.

Workable proposals

Following her announcement, Tavish Scott, chief executive of trade body Salmon Scotland, said: “HPMAs united coastal communities and MSPs in total opposition, as they posed a risk of banning all human activity from vast swathes of Scotland’s coastline.

“We welcome the Scottish Government's confirmation that HPMAs, as currently conceived, will be scrapped.”

He added: “We commit to working with the Scottish Government to develop workable proposals that safeguard both livelihoods and the marine environment on which they rely.”

Scottish Fishermen's Federation chief executive Elspeth Macdonald has warned the government against trying to “re-brand” HPMAs by introducing the same policies under a different name.