SCOTTISH Labour have been accused of “political point scoring” over HPMAs amid another Holyrood debate on the issue.
Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMAs), a part of the SNP-Green Bute House Agreement, are areas which would remove the vast majority of human activity that could cause a negative impact on the environment.
This includes fishing, aquaculture, oil and gas exploration, commercial seaweed harvesting and offshore wind infrastructure, with the Scottish Government policy intending to designate 10% of Scotland’s seas as HPMAs by 2026.
There have been numerous debates on the issue of HPMAs since Humza Yousaf took over the role as First Minister, with Tuesday’s session of Parliament focusing on the success of a song protesting the proposals.
Skipinnish teamed up with a 64-year-old fisherman Donald Francis MacNeil to produce a song protesting the introduction of these zones and comparing them to the Highland Clearances.
The band’s co-founder Angus MacPhail penned The Clearances Again to stand against the plans and give a voice to those who disagree with what is being proposed.
The success of the song was debated in Holyrood after a motion brought by Scottish Labour MSP Rhoda Grant had enough support from fellow MPs, including Tories, LibDems and SNP backbencher Fergus Ewing.
However, Grant and Scottish Labour were accused of politicising the issue by Scottish Greens MSP Ariane Burgess.
“Firstly, I believe it’s irresponsible, inflammatory and misleading to compare HPMAs to the Highland Clearances,” she told the Chamber.
“If the member truly believed this policy was so damaging, why did she and her Labour colleagues stand on a manifesto covering 20% of Scotland’s seas?
“The truth is Labour care more about political point scoring than they do our coastal communities.
“In the ecological and climate crisis, delay matters. Acting quickly is vital to restoring our productivity and resilience.”
Earlier, Grant opened the debate by describing the song about HPMAs as a “protest” against the plans.
“Donald Francis and Skipinnish’s song talks about the Clearances once again,” Grant told MSPs.
“The Clearances is not something easily evoked in the Highlands and Islands, and yet in this instance it is valid.
“People are already selling up, any investment has been shelved and families are already moving out. This will cause depopulation and clear people of the land.
“People will not accept this.”
The Highlands and Islands MSP called on the Parliament to congratulate Skipinnish and MacNeil on the song securing a spot on the top 10 of iTunes downloads for the song in under 24 hours since it was released.
The motion added that it is a protest song which believes the proposals “will ban inshore fishing and all marine activities and impact on the economy of the Highlands and Islands”.
Grant’s motion said the Scottish Government should “heed the reported concerns and revisit this policy”.
Grant previously said the song “spells out the dismay of fishing communities” that “distant decision makers are destroying livelihoods and income at the stroke of a pen”.
“These are not people who damage the environment, they are people who want to work with it and protect it,” Grant told MSPs.
Mairi McAllan, Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, told MSPs that there were a number of inaccuracies during the debate, where MSPs had claimed the Scottish Government that the proposals would not ban inshore fishing or all marine activities, but they would be restricted under the plans.
Responding to calls for HPMAs to be scrapped, McAllan said: “People are telling me today, Cabinet Secretary, go back to the drawing board.
“The truth is I never left the drawing board. We are at the drawing board.”
