Scotland's future catching policy - selectivity proposals consultation 2026: partial BRIA

Section 2: Engagement and information gathering

Engagement approach

To identify and explore areas for improvement and discuss and develop possible selectivity proposals, we have undertaken a period of stakeholder engagement since the publication of the initial consultation in 2022. The selectivity measures put forth for consultation have been informed by a range of stakeholder engagement initiatives over a number of months, including; discussions under the Fisheries Management and Conservation (FMAC) stakeholder group and the Future Catching Policy sub-group comprised of representatives from the Scottish fishing industry, environmental stakeholders, SNCB’s, academia and the Scottish Government’s Marine Directorate; technical level workshops both in person and online with stakeholders and separate bilateral meetings. As part of the process, the Scottish Government shared a draft of the selectivity proposals with the FCP sub-group in July 2025 and gathered both verbal and written feedback from stakeholders to further inform the selectivity proposals. This was part of a process known as ‘pre-consultation’.

Feedback received as part of formal public consultation alongside further discussions with stakeholders through FMAC will help shape the selectivity measures to be implemented.

Internal SG engagement/ engagement with wider Public Sector

Internal SG engagement

Consultation has been undertaken with officials within the Marine Directorate of the Scottish Government, including policy, compliance and science experts and marine analysts/economists.

UK/ Devolved Administrations

Within the UK we have also engaged with DEFRA, the Marine Management Organisation (MMO), the Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Executive on the selectivity proposals.

International

In an international context we have engaged with the EU, Norway and Faroe to allow them to provide feedback on the selectivity proposals.

Business / Third Sector engagement

The selectivity measures put forth for consultation have been informed by a range of stakeholder engagement initiatives over a number of months, including; discussions under the Fisheries Management and Conservation (FMAC) stakeholder group and the Future Catching Policy sub-group comprised of representatives from the Scottish fishing industry, environmental stakeholders, SNCB’s, academia and Marine Directorate Policy; technical level workshops both in person and online with stakeholders and separate bilateral meetings.

Public consultation

This partial BRIA has been produced to support public consultation on the selectivity proposals under the Future Catching Policy. The purpose of the consultation is to seek views from those with an interest in these proposals to support sustainability of fishing activity. The consultation also seeks feedback on the evidence presented regarding the selectivity proposals and provides an opportunity for respondents to provide additional evidence that may support policy development.

The consultation will be published on the Scottish Government’s Citizen Space platform to enable a wide reach of engagement. Interested parties will be signposted to the publication through various engagement tools such as the FMAC distribution list and direct email communication.

This consultation on selectivity measures builds on the consultation published in 2022 which set out the overarching principles of the Future Catching Policy.