Parliamentary questions
Tim Eagle
1,487 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
21 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government on how many occasions the current (a) Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands and (b) Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity has met with the Scottish White Fish Producers Association since they were appointed to their role.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: Myself and the Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity have not met formally with the Scottish White Fish Producers Association since we were appointed to our roles in May 2024.
21 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government on how many occasions the current (a) Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands and (b) Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity has met with the Fife Fishermen’s Association since they were appointed to their role.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: Myself and the Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity have not met formally with the Fife Fishermen’s Association since we were appointed to our roles in May 2024.
21 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, regarding any impact on the fishing industry in Scotland, what recent engagement it has had with the UK Government regarding annual fisheries negotiations with the EU.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: Scotland’s approach to annual fisheries negotiations is informed by the best available evidence, taking into account scientific advice, socioeconomic factors, and the dynamics of fisheries. Our key priority throughout negotiations is always to protect S…
21 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how often the Marine Directorate consults (a) fishermen, (b) fisheries businesses and (c) fisheries representative groups about its performance.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The Marine Directorate has several formal stakeholder engagement forums where there are opportunities to discuss the performance of the Marine Directorate with fishermen, their representatives and fisheries businesses. These include the Fisheries Management a…
21 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government on how many occasions the current (a) Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands and (b) Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity has met with the Scottish Pelagic Fishermen’s Association since they were appointed to their role.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: Myself and the Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity have met formally with the Scottish Pelagic Fishermen’s Association on two occasions since we were appointed to our roles in May 2024.
21 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response was to the June 2022 National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations paper, Spatial Squeeze in Fisheries Final Report.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: I refer the member to the answer to the question S6W-33899 on 31 January 2025. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-an…
21 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it has supported the fishing industry to invest in low-carbon fishing vessels for inshore waters, as stated in the 2021 Scottish National Party manifesto.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The Scottish Government is supporting early adopters of new technology to deliver on emission targets and we have provided over £500,000 Marine Fund Scotland (MFS) support since 2021 for individual projects contributing to fuel efficiencies. Of this, ov…
21 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what regular meetings it has with representatives from the fishing industry regarding its climate change targets.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: I refer the member to the answer to the question S6W-33849 on 31 January 2025. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-an…
21 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it can provide details of how many respondents (a) supported and (b) opposed, the proposed zonal fisheries management measures for offshore MPAs, as outlined in its consultation on "Fisheries management measures within Scottish Offshore Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)”.
Answer · Gillian Martin: Of those who responded specifically to the question on zonal management measures, 66% were in support and 25% were opposed (with the remaining 9% being neutral).The full consultation analysis report was published on 31 January and can be found on the Scottish…
21 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many instances of (a) EU and (b) non-EU vessels landing fish without sufficient quota coverage in Scottish waters have been recorded, in each year since 2021.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The Scottish Government has no access to information on quotas held by individual vessels, it is therefore not possible for the Scottish Government to provide any information on instances of EU or non-EU vessels landing fish in Scottish waters without suffici…
21 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it had with the fishing industry prior to publishing (a) Climate Change Plan, The Third Report on Proposals and Policies 2018-2032 and (b) Update to the Climate Change Plan 2018 – 2032 Securing a Green Recovery on a Path to Net Zero.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: During the development of the climate change plan and update there was extensive engagement across all sectors and a public consultation on the draft plan was open for everyone to provide comment. The consultation ran from 16 December 2020 to 31 March 2021.We…
21 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has produced any internal reports regarding its approach to its involvement in the annual fisheries negotiations with the EU, and, if so, whether it will provide details of these.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: Officials engaged closely with colleagues in UK Government in the lead up to and throughout the negotiations, to discuss the scientific advice and negotiating approaches. Scotland continued to play an active role in the UK delegation throughout negotiations, …
21 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government on how many occasions the current (a) Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands and (b) Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity has met with the Clyde Fishermen’s Association since they were appointed to their role.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: Myself and the Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity have met formally with the Clyde Fishermen’s Association on three occasions since we were appointed to our roles in May 2024.
21 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the long-term impact of so-called "spatial squeeze" on ScotWind leasing rounds on fishing waters.
Answer · Gillian Martin: The potential cumulative impacts of the ScotWind leasing round are currently being assessed through the sectoral marine planning process. The ScotWind sites, together with the sites leased by Crown Estate Scotland through the Innovation and Targeted Oil and G…
21 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many Marine Scotland (a) protection and (b) research vessels can be classified as low-carbon vessels.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: Marine Directorate Marine Protection and Research vessels range in age from between seventeen and twenty-seven years old. A zero and 'low carbon' fuel is generally associated with zero or low emissions at point of combustion onboard a vessel. Low emission fue…
21 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much the Marine Directorate spent on the (a) maintenance, (b) repair and (c) fuel costs of the (i) patrol boats and (ii) patrol planes that it has had access to in each year since 2021.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: Patrol VesselsThe following table sets out the patrol vessel spend for the last three financial years, for the purposes of the response maintenance includes the maintenance of the vessels, cranes and landing craft both at refit and on an ongoing basis.Vessels…
21 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government on how many occasions the current (a) Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands and (b) Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity has met with the Scottish Creel Fishermen’s Federation since they were appointed to their role.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: Myself and the Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity have not met formally with the Scottish Creel Fishermen’s Federation since we were appointed to our roles in May 2024.
21 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish its updated Sectoral Marine Plan for Offshore Wind Energy.
Answer · Gillian Martin: The Scottish Government is working at pace to publish an updated Sectoral Marine Plan for Offshore Wind Energy in 2025. We will commence consultation on a draft updated Plan in Spring 2025 and finalise the draft Plan in Autumn 2025 with adoption and publicati…
21 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government on how many occasions the current (a) Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands and (b) Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity has met with the Fishing Vessel Agents & Owners Association (Scotland) Ltd since they were appointed to their role.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: Myself and the Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity have not met formally with the Fishing Vessel Agents & Owners Association (Scotland) Ltd since we were appointed to our roles.
21 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with environmental stakeholders regarding so-called "spatial squeeze".
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: I refer the member to the answer to the question S6W-33899 on 31 January 2025. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-an…
21 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) patrol vessels and (b) patrol planes the Marine Directorate has access to.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The Marine Directorate owns/operates a fleet of three Marine Protection Vessels (MPVs), and two small inshore craft.MPV Minna since 2003 (42 metres in length)MPV Jura since 2006 (84 metres in length)MPV Hirta since 2008 (84 metres in length)Small craft Ailsa …
21 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government on how many occasions the current (a) Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands and (b) Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity has met with the Shetland Fishermen’s Association since they were appointed to their role.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: Myself and the Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity have met formally with the Shetland Fishermen’s Association on one occasion since we were appointed to our roles in May 2024.
21 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government on how many occasions the current (a) Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands and (b) Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity has met with the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation since they were appointed to their role.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: Myself and the Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity have met formally with the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation on one occasion since we were appointed to our roles in May 2024.
21 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to encourage local authorities to include more domestic seafood products in (a) their office and (b) school canteens.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The Scottish Government is using its legislation and policies to maximise the impact procurement can have for public bodies, local suppliers and the Scottish economy.Local authorities, supported by Scotland Excel, remain committed to using local and sustainab…
21 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government on how many occasions the current (a) Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands and (b) Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity has met with the Scottish Anglers National Association since they were appointed to their role.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity and I have not met directly with the Scottish Anglers National Association (SANA).However, representatives of SANA were part of the stakeholder group that advised on the development of the Wild Salmon Strategy pub…
21 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with fishing industry stakeholders regarding so-called "spatial squeeze".
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: I understand the concerns around increasing competition for marine space and the different pressures on various marine activities.I welcomed publication of the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations’ and the Scottish Fishermen’s Fe…
21 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with energy industry stakeholders regarding so-called "spatial squeeze".
Answer · Gillian Martin: The Scottish Government has engaged with energy industry stakeholders on spatial pressures in the marine environment through our current work to update the Sectoral Marine Plan for Offshore Wind Energy and the development of the National Marine Plan 2. Ongoin…
21 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many instances of (a) EU and (b) non-EU vessels catching fish below the minimum landing size in Scottish waters have been recorded, in each year since 2021.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: From 2019 the landing obligation requires all species subject to a Total Allowable Catch (TAC) be landed irrespective of whether they are above the required marketable size. It is therefore not illegal to land fish below the minimum size if it is recorded and…
21 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish its National Marine Plan 2.
Answer · Gillian Martin: Scotland’s first National Marine Plan (NMP) was adopted in 2015 and provides the guiding framework for sustainable management of marine activities and resources. In October 2022, Ministers announced the intention to update the NMP to better support our …
21 Jan 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government on how many occasions the current (a) Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands and (b) Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity has met with the Anglo Scottish Fishermen’s Association since they were appointed to their role.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: Myself and the Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity have not met formally with the Anglo Scottish Fishermen’s Association since we were appointed to our roles.