Scottish Aquaculture Council minutes: June 2024

Attendees and apologies

Chair

• Mairi Gougeon, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands

Members

• Tavish Scott, Salmon Scotland
• David McKay, Scottish Environment Link, Scottish Soil Association
• Sarah Evans, Marine Conservation Society
• Ben Hadfield, Mowi/Salmon Scotland
• Jim Gallagher, Scottish Sea Farms/Salmon Scotland
• Owen Stevens, Scottish Seaweed Industry Association
• Russel Griggs, Independent Reviewer
• Nick Lake, Association of Scottish Shellfish Growers [Remote]
• Elaine Jamieson, Highland and Islands Enterprise [Remote]
• Cathy Tillbrook, NatureScot
• Lin Bunten, Scottish Environment Protection Agency
• Ronan O’Hara, Crown Estate Scotland
• Thekla Garland, Head of Environmental Quality Unit, SG
• Fiona Simpson, Chief Planner, SG
• Shelia Voas, Chief Veterinary Officer, SG
• Annabel Turpie, Director, Marine Directorate, SG

Additional attendees

• Diarmuid O’Neill, Deputy Director Science, Evidence, Digital and Data, SG
• Rebecca Hackett, Deputy Director, Corporate, Strategy, Marine Planning, SG
• Lewis Hurley, Head of Marine Planning, SG
• Louise O’Hara Murray, Marine Planning Manager, SG
• Jill Barber, Head of Aquaculture Development, SG
• Hazel Bartels, Senior Delivery Lead, Fish Health, Welfare and Innovation, SG
• Bill Ellis – Head of Aquaculture Consenting, SG

Apologies

• Mairi McAllen, Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy
• Alan Wells, Fisheries Management Scotland
• Oliver Robinson, British Trout Association
• Dawn Purchase, Marine Conservation Society
• Heather Jones, Sustainable Aquaculture Innovation Centre
• Julie Fitzpatrick, Chief Scientific Advisor, SG
• Malcolm Pentland, Deputy Director Marine Economy and Communities, SG

Secretariat provided by Marine Directorate officials. ​​​​​​​

Items and actions

Summary of meeting 5 actions

• Minutes from the Scottish Aquaculture Council’s fourth meeting to be considered for publication by Ministers.
• Marine Directorate/Scottish Environment Protection Agency officials to follow up on issues raised about shellfish waters.

Welcome, apologies and housekeeping

The Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands (RALRI) welcomed everyone to the fifth meeting of the Scottish Aquaculture Council (SAC).

Agreement of the Scottish Aquaculture Council meeting four minutes (16 November)

No further comments were provided on meeting four minutes. Minutes will be considered for publication by Ministers.

Action - Minutes to be considered for publication by Ministers.

National Marine Plan 2

Scottish Government (SG) officials delivered a presentation on the development of the National Marine Plan 2 (NMP2).

Following the latest review of the national marine plan in 2021, it was concluded that a new national marine plan should be developed as there have been significant national and global developments, which impact our use and management of Scotland’s marine resources, since the first national marine plan was published in 2015.

Details were provided on the approach being taken to developing the new national marine plan and the role stakeholders will play in contributing to this process.

Seven high-level objectives are being considered, including :

• Climate mitigation and adaptation
• Ecosystem health, protection and restoration
• Sustainable marine economy
• Island and coastal community development
• Cultural heritage
• Social and cultural wellbeing
• Implementation

The current draft themes and objectives are likely to be amended following input from stakeholders during upcoming engagement sessions. Feedback from all stakeholders is important. 

The Cabinet Secretary invited the members of the SAC to share their thoughts on the draft high level objectives (HLO’s).

Professor Griggs noted that when seeking input from community groups, care should be taken to ensure a broad range of community voices are being considered to ensure a balanced overview within the NMP2 objectives.

The salmon farming sector agreed with Professor Griggs comments and asked that NMP2 has explicit recognition for food security in its’ HLO’s.

The Cabinet Secretary highlighted the importance of Scottish aquaculture’s role in food security and the need for discussions such as the one taking place today. Officials noted the feedback and would consider how food security might be incorporated into the HLOs.

The shellfish farming sector commented on the NMP2’s area based structure and how that approach might work for stakeholder engagement, noting that opinions across Scotland on aquaculture could vary significantly depending on an individual’s geography and relation to the industry. 

SG officials responded that work is being done with colleagues in their regional and coastal planning partnerships, to reflect the different characteristics of these areas to  aid engagement with communities and ensure a balanced overview is achieved throughout the NMP2.

The fish farming sector asked about NMP2 timelines and when the HLO would be set, noting that regional marine plans under the existing NMP1 were still to be adopted.

SG officials recognised that there have been difficulties in getting the marine plans agreed although work is continuing to resolve this. The NMP2 HLO will not be set until the final plan is in place but they expect the objectives will develop throughout the process.

NatureScot asked if NMP2 will incorporate nature positive policy with regards to aquaculture.

SG officials stated that they intend to look at nature positive policy amongst other overarching policies in the planned stakeholder workshops and how it might be used and delivered by the different sectors using the NMP2.

The Cabinet Secretary stated that there is wider work going on across SG regarding food security and Net Zero which is being embodied across various policy areas to enable a joined-up government approach.

The Chief Planner reflected on the work from the National Planning Framework 4 and the challenge of bringing together multiple policies, which was why they had to focus on high level objectives to keep it flexible enough not to stymie development.

Crown Estate Scotland noted that the objectives did not include innovation and the way in which we now create and deliver value for Scotland.  Innovation has become integral to how we create and capture value.

SE Link queried if the process would apply the five guiding principles on the environment set out in The UK Withdrawal from the European Union (Continuity) (Scotland) Act 2021 –the principle of integration, the precautionary principle, the preventative principle, the rectification at source principle and the polluter pays principle.

SG officials responded that the five environmental principles, as well as Just Transition policy, will be considered throughout the process and thanked members for their feedback.

The shellfish sector raised concerns about shellfish protected waters, regulatory action and degrading water quality, questioning SG policy to support development in shellfish protected waters only.

SG officials noted that discussions took place last year on prioritising recovery of designated shellfish waters and asked for an update on engagement. SG and SEPA agreed to follow up on the issue raised.

Action – Marine Directorate/Scottish Environment Protection Agency officials to follow up on issues raised about shellfish waters.

Consenting Task Group

The Cabinet Secretary noted that the consenting pilots currently underway are a critical piece of work and thanked all members for their input to date.

SG officials gave an update on the progress of the consenting pilots since the SAC heard from Professor Dickon Howell, Chair of the Consenting Task Group (CTG) at the last SAC meeting on 16 November 2023.

It was noted that there were now 4 pilots underway across the Shetland and Highland local authority areas and by the end of June it was expected that the first joint pre-application advice reports will be published for all 4 existing pilots.

The SG has also appointed an independent evaluator to assess the benefits and constraints of the pre-application process. That work is expected to be completed within 7 months, and a final report due by 1 December 2024. 

Whilst evaluation takes place, work on the consenting system will continue. The advisory group is currently discussing priority areas of action for the next quarter and expects to seek agreement with the CTG in June (TBC). The current recommendation is to prioritise:

• Continued pre-application pilots in Shetland and Highland, to allow further repetitions and refinement to the process.
• Exploration of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA) processes, including, working to remove duplication; exploring the potential for regulators to adopt each other’s HRA assessments and exploring the interaction of SEPA’s environmental risk assessment and its potential role in meeting elements of local authority EIA requirements.
• Working to ensure that EIA is targeted (considering issues scoped into EIA).
• To complement the work of the CTG, there has been on-going work to explore whether an existing Marine Licence Exemption Order provides opportunities for finfish and shellfish farm developers to reduce their regulatory burden.

The Cabinet Secretary invited members to feedback on the CTG priorities identified.  

The salmon farming sector commented that progress has been made, with good knowledge exchange and sees a real opportunity in this workstream that will be beneficial for all involved but opined that the process as a whole could still pick up pace.

It was noted that there was still due diligence work to do on the proposed work to streamline the EIA processes.

The salmon farming sector also stated that there are now tools available to show where there are limited risks from salmon farms and, if they can demonstrate they are having no impact on Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), then those areas should be open for development. These tools are helping to demonstrate risk and impact which could help to apply adaptive management under the precautionary principle. 

SG officials responded that the CTG are continuing at pace and are committed to improve processes further. It is intended that workshops will be held on improving EIA processes. Clarity was requested on the issue raised relating to MPAs.

NatureScot stated that there is already scope for conditions that allow development on MPAs including the use of adaptive management. As the evidence base improves on impacts from salmon farming there may be further opportunities to consider development in MPAs with appropriate conditions in place.

SG officials reiterated that they are keen to support work to explore the evidence base following the Scottish Science Advisory Council’s (SSAC’s) report on science in aquaculture consenting.  This could help to identify where new evidence exists or prioritisation of evidence gaps.

The salmon farming sector noted how the consenting process has improved, whilst some aspects of the SEPA sea lice framework were considered too precautionary. Time and care taken to develop the framework was welcomed. 

Professor Griggs stated that since the regulatory review a lot of progress has been made, but there is still work to be done on the SSAC’s recommendations regarding use of science and evidence in aquaculture consenting and that joint pre-application process should have a lead agency to take forward and manage that process.

The salmon farming sector agreed with Professor Griggs comments and questioned whether SEPA had to be the lead co-ordinator of the pilot process or whether other options could be considered.

SG officials responded that the pilot process has tried to recognise statutory roles for handling the process, whilst providing identified case officers, and that the pilots would be evaluated which may result in changes going forward.

NatureScot advised that based on comments from their operational staff involved in the pilots, they would like to see consideration of the site location being made available earlier in the process as this would aid their response.  They also stated that it would be useful to have a singular point of contact for applications.

SG officials welcomed all the feedback and advised that this would be fed into the evaluation of the pilots.

Any Other Business

The Cabinet Secretary made members aware that the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee would be conducting a follow up inquiry on the challenges and opportunities for salmon farming in Scotland commencing in June, noting that several SAC members have been invited to give evidence.  She advised that she looked forward to discussing progress with the committee later this year.

SG officials updated on the Sustainable Aquaculture Innovation Centre(SAIC) and the £1.5M Scottish Government and Scottish Funding Council funding package recently agreed to support SAIC until March 2026. The Cabinet Secretary expressed that she was pleased that funding had now been agreed given the importance of innovation as a key enabler to delivering the Vision for Sustainable Aquaculture.

An update was also provided by SG officials and the Chief Veterinary Officer on the progress of the Farmed Fish Health Framework (FFHF), noting a new approach to the work of the FFHF to better drive tangible delivery. This would involve developing a strategic layer of engagement for horizon scanning and thinking about project activity as a whole.  There would be more working level arrangements to drive forward individual project activity. Papers to flesh this out in more detail are in development.

SG officials updated members on the appointment of a new Chief Science Adviser, Marine. Prof. Mark Inall, who would be taking up the post mid-June.  

Prof. Inall is Professor of Marine Physics at Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) and University of Highlands and Islands; and was until very recently a Director with the Scottish Alliance for Geoscience, Environment and Society (SAGES). He is also a member of the Scottish Science Advisory Council.

Prof. Inall’s role will be to advise on marine science delivery. Officials will be in touch with members to arrange meetings with Prof. Inall in due course.

Members were also made aware of the publication of the Marine Science and Innovation Strategy in January 2024, the launch of which garnered high levels of engagement through a report on STV. The strategy sets out the role marine science and innovation will play in providing solutions to energy and food security challenges.

The Cabinet Secretary closed the meeting and noted the secretariat will share the minutes and send an invitation for the next meeting in due course.