Politics and planning

By Phil Thomas, Chairman of the Scottish Salmon Producers’ Organisation (SSPO)

In the few months since the independence referendum, the SNP Scottish Government and the Scottish Labour Party (the main opposition) have both appointed new leaders and new frontbench teams. With a General Election to the UK Parliament taking place on 7 May 2015, Scotland is once more embroiled in re-energised party political campaigning. Will it never end, you might ask? Interestingly, amongst the Scottish business and industry community there are stirrings of a change in mood. There are concerns about the Scottish economy (the decline in oil prices is a major issue); about some of the Government’s more ideological policies, such as those on land reform; and about a perceived growth in state interventionism and regulation. During the independence referendum business and industry largely stood back from the public debate on the constitutional status of the country. Now, it seems more likely that they may step forward and speak up in the political campaign. Their contribution is in fact crucial to a proper public debate and to delivering economic prosperity and jobs. Politicians talk glibly about Scotland’s economic, social and environment goals, but it is business and industry that actually delivers them. On a related topic, the Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment (RACCE) Committee of the Scottish Parliament is currently considering Scotland’s National Marine Plan. The document is worth a look because it is one of the very first of its kind to appear in an EU region (congratulations to Marine Scotland for that). It gives an early impression of the way Scotland is seeking to develop marine spatial planning. My view is that the Plan rests uncomfortably between being a promotional statement of public policy, a technical planning brief and a strategic development plan. On the plus side, its early chapters set out very helpfully the principles that the Scottish Government wishes to adopt in marine planning. These have a very strong emphasis on scientific principles and evidence-based approaches – a stance that the aquaculture industry (and marine industries generally) will wholeheartedly welcome. Regrettably that approach is not always applied in some of the later chapters which, as a consequence, fall into the ‘could do better’ category. However, the document provides a useful start in new thinking and a framework on which to build. The Plan unequivocally supports the continued sustainable development of Scottish aquaculture and sets out the present targets for the national expansion of finfish and shellfish farming to 2020. However, wholly illogically from a scientific standpoint the plan maintains a ‘continuing presumption against marine fish farm development on the north and east coasts to help safeguard migratory fish species’. This presumption, which was initially introduced as a result of a precautionary recommendation in the Report of the Scottish Salmon Strategy Task Force (1997), was initially designed specifically to limit the development of open-net salmon farming on the north and east coasts in the absence of a marine planning system at that time. However, the extension of the ‘presumption-against’ from salmon to all species of finfish, is incomprehensible, and particularly so since there has been a very detailed and rigorous planning system for fish farm development in place since 2007. In published comments on the decision not to remove the ‘presumption-against’ Marine Scotland has said: ‘it is a long standing agreement which was established to protect migratory fish and there is no definitive scientific evidence on the impacts on these fish which would support its removal’. However, this simply compounds the illogicality of the decision; there never was nor will be definitive scientific evidence to support a presumption-against all types of fish farm development. A scrutiny of the evidence given to the RACCE Committee by the Cabinet Secretary, Richard Lochhead and the Director of Marine Scotland, Linda Rosborough also fails to throw any light of understanding on the decision. Their comments suggest there is simply not the political will to address an outdated planning barrier. However, the decision is not without consequences since it will stifle any prospects of aquaculture innovation in those north and east coast areas, where a major part of the Scottish fish processing sector is located.