Future Stranraer Oyster Festival Funding Secured

That the Parliament congratulates the Stranraer Development Trust on receiving £15,000 from Dumfries and Galloway Council for the 2022 Oyster Festival; acknowledges that the Oyster Festival, which had been running for three consecutive years up until 2020 when it could not go ahead due to COVID-19, attracts thousands of visitors from the UK and abroad, and in 2019, generated over £1 million for the local economy; notes that Loch Ryan is the home of Scotland’s oldest native oyster beds, dating back to 1701, when King William III granted a Royal Charter of the oyster bed to the Wallace family, who still reside on the shores of the Loch, and the rights to the oysters bed have been in their family ever since; further notes that not only can visitors enjoy the wild oysters but they can also experience the many local artisan crafts and stalls, live music and entertainment over the celebratory weekend; wishes the 2022 Autumn Oyster Festival every success, and encourages people to consider visiting the festival, which is truly unique to Stranraer, Wigtownshire and wider South West Scotland.