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

Section 5: Next steps and implementation

Recommendations/ preferred options

Based on the analysis, Option 1 - Implement selectivity improvements – is recommended.

Implementation considerations/ plan

When developing policies the Scottish Government looks at impact assessments, assesses which ones are relevant to the policy and plans how to complete them as part of the process.

Any new management interventions will be screened and, where necessary, an appropriate assessment will be completed to ensure any actions or measures take before being implemented.

Some of the assessments which may require to be completed include:

• Strategic Environmental Assessment
• Business and regulatory impact assessment
• Data Protection Impact Assessment
• Equality Impact Assessment
• Islands Communities Impact Assessment
• Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA)

Post implementation review

A full BRIA will be undertaken once the outcome of the consultation is known and a finalised position has been agreed on what proposals will be taken forward. Some proposals that are being consulted on are for a call for evidence or to seek views as projects have not yet been completed at the time of the consultation and therefore full costings are not yet available.

Proposals will be taken forward on a level playing field basis and we will evaluate the best way to deliver this once outcomes of the consultation are known.

Sampling programmes are used to make annual assessments of the quantity and composition of the demersal catch. The catch is divided into the landings and bycatch (unwanted catch) components. The Scottish Demersal Observer Programme, operated jointly by the Marine Directorate of the Scottish Government and the Scottish Fisherman's Federation, collects biological data from the bycatch of these trawler fleets targeting demersal species in the North Sea and the West of Scotland. Selectivity measures will focus on the effectiveness of the measures on impacts of the discard rate and bycatch of sensitive marine species.