A MINISTER has pledged to tour Scotland to hear concerns about the Government's controversial plans to effectively ban commercial fishing in swathes of the sea.
A consultation on the controversial Highly Protected Marine Area (HPMA) plans closed on Monday amid a storm of controversy – including one folk band provocatively comparing the policy to the Highland Clearances.
HPMAs would place tough restrictions on around a tenth of the country’s seas by 2026 – but fishing communities as well as the local authorities of the Highlands and Argyll and Bute have raised grave concerns they could put fishermen out of work across Scotland.
Just Transition Secretary Mairi McAllan pledged the Scottish Government was “listening” and committed to visits to coastal and island communities in the coming months to “hear directly from those affected”.
She said she recognised the “value that Scotland’s fishing and aquaculture sectors play in contributing to our economic prosperity” but warned it was an “unavoidable truth that we are in the midst of a climate and nature crisis”.
The Scottish folk band Skipinnish teamed up with Donald Francis MacNeil, a 64-year-old fisherman from Vatersay in the Western Isles, to record a song called The Clearances Again, in the most high-profile protest against the proposals to date.
The song includes the lines: “My song marks a fight for survival/A Mayday call we cry/We will stand for the rights of our children/We will not let our islands die”.
In a statement, McAllan (below) said: “It is an unavoidable truth that we are in the midst of a climate and nature crisis and we must be prepared to take action commensurate with the scale of that challenge.
“However, it is also true that as we tackle the climate emergency, we must do so via a fair and just transition which empowers communities and shares in the benefits of a green economy.
"Our seas and their ecosystems are vital to a healthy environment and Scotland has some of the most beautiful and diverse marine ecosystems on the planet.
“We have to consider what more we can do to protect our precious natural environment and ensure productive and healthy seas are preserved for many generations to come.
“Proposals for Highly Protected Marine Areas, akin to those under development across the EU, are intended to offer a greater level of protection to our most precious marine life, allowing key species and habitats to recover, helping to tackle climate change, benefiting nature and supporting our blue economy.
"I recognise there is considerable strength of feeling on this issue – from those who support it and those who have concerns. It has always been our intention to develop these ambitious proposals in close collaboration with those impacted by them – in particular, people living and working in our island and coastal communities.
“That’s why we have chosen to consult right at the beginning of the process and why I have committed to now consider the responses to our initial consultation very carefully as we develop next steps.
"I want to give my assurance that I am listening and absolutely recognise the value that Scotland’s fishing and aquaculture sectors play in contributing to our economic prosperity. I will visit coastal and island communities in the coming months to hear directly from those affected.
“At the moment, we are at the very early stages of developing HPMAs and are yet to consider where they might be located as part of a separate process.
“There will be further opportunities for individuals, communities and businesses to have their say on where and how we enhance our marine protection and I am determined to ensure that as many voices as possible are heard."
