News In Focus
22 December 2006
MSPs support Fisheries Bill
MSPs have unanimously agreed the principles of the Aquaculture and Fisheries Bill, which will give ministers greater powers to inspect and destroy diseased fish.
The bill, which was approved following its stage 1 debate yesterday, strengthens powers of inspection over fish farms, and improves control measures in relation to inland waters to prevent disease.
For fish farmers, the bill:
- compels fish farmers to collect, retain and make available for inspection information about fish parasites and containment of fish;
- allows inspectors to take samples of stock and measure levels of parasites;
- allows inspectors access to check whether fish have escaped from a farm and to investigate the risk of escape;
- allows enforcement action to be taken if farms do not have satisfactory measures in place to control parasites or contain fish;
- regulates live fish movements into specified areas in marine waters;
- allows the establishment of a scheme to pay some compensation for any fish destroyed for the purposes of disease controls; and
- allows funding for initiatives relating to sea fisheries, freshwater fisheries, aquaculture and inshore fisheries.
For freshwater fisheries, the bill gives powers to introduce a temporary restrictions on the movement of live fish, fish eggs and foodstuff for fish in the event of an outbreak of Gyrodactylus salaris - a parasite that affects the skin, gills and fins of salmon, trout and other freshwater fish, but is as yet relatively unknown in British waters. It also contains powers for the compulsory purchase of land, to treat rivers with chemicals to kill the parasite, and for the compulsory slaughter of affected fish.
Speaking during the debate, Deputy Environment Minister Rhona Brankin said retail spending on salmon products in the UK reached £430 million this year and scope for employment within the salmon fishing industry was estimated to be 8,500 people.
Angling was another big spend area, supporting around 2,800 jobs, with the potential to increase.
She said: "The bill seeks to act as a 'backstop' to the fish farming industry's code of good practice and all sides recognise that it strikes the right balance on the degree of regulation. It lays strong foundations for the further development of both freshwater fisheries and aquaculture for the benefit of Scotland.
"The proposals in this bill are on the right track and I am optimistic that the measured, consensual approach will continue for the remainder of the bill's passage through Parliament."