Marine Bill

Thank you, Presiding Officer.

This debate has highlighted our marine and coastal environment which contains many special and some unique landscapes of national and international renown. We have distinctive habitats, such as sea lochs and maerl beds, synonymous to Scotland as Tulips from Amsterdam may be. Scottish waters are among the most diverse in the world, supporting 8,000 complex and over 36,000 single cell species and animals. Two examples which come to mind are leatherback turtle and basking shark.

And my own South of Scotland region has a large part of the Scottish coastline - the mild Solway and Ayrshire coast on the west; and East Lothian and Berwickshire Coast. I estimate over 600 kms of coastline.

Solway Firth in the west of my region was one of the five contenders as a national park location. Hopefully that will happen in the future and I would seek an assurance from the cabinet secretary that those plans have not been put on the back burner.

As well as the biodiversity within our seas, the coastline is important economically as it supports communities whether through fishing, aquaculture or tourism. Some facts:-

16,000 jobs in fishing and aquaculture generate a landing value of £300m from Scottish boats and a "farm gate" value of £340m from aquaculture. Scotland produces about 90% of UK farmed fish and shellfish.

People visiting Historic Scotland's staffed coastal and island properties generate some £2.5m of income per annum

Recreational diving opportunities attract many thousands of divers every year - St Abbs, Eyemouth with its flora wrecks including U-Boats. An opportunity that businesses like Eyemouth based Marine Quest have grasped following their fishing boat de-commissioning.

Off shore Oil and gas supports 164,000 jobs.

There is cross party agreement that Scotland's seas should be managed in a coherent way; in a manner which addresses social, economic and environmental factors. The difficult part of course is working out how that's actually achieved in practical terms.

And I would emphasise that there has to be a sensible balance struck between economic activity and other uses of our seas, given its economic importance to Scotland.

I welcome the prospect of a Scottish Marine Bill which must complement UK legislation, complex though that process may be. I do however share the disappointment of colleagues that well over a year on from the last debate on the subject, proposals have still not been brought forward despite the cabinet secretary's upbeat words in June 2007.

There are key issues which should be addressed in bringing forward a Scottish Bill. Scotland will now have responsibility for planning and conservation measures out to a distance of 200 nautical miles which was originally suggested by the Scottish Liberal Democrats. There needs to be an integrated system of marine spatial planning and crucially, these two things will build on current powers over sea fisheries and offshore renewable energy. The Scottish Government must therefore continue positive dialogue with UK Ministers to achieve the benefits we all want to see from our use of the sea.

Without any kind of streamlined framework for coastal zone management, there has been increasing evidence of environmental degradation. A more integrated approach would reduce uncertainty, and bring real benefits to all users of the marine and coastal environments.

It's therefore vital that the Westminster and Holyrood Bills complement each other so that there is consistency in planning our uses of the sea, and in protecting sites for rare wildlife.

I welcome the consultation which I'm pleased to say many of its proposals were recommendations made by the Advisory Group on Marine and Coastal Strategy (AGMACS) founded under the last administration in 2005 and chaired by Ross Finnie - the creation of a dedicated marine management organisation; the coordination of marine planning; increased local focus; a 3-tiered planning structure; the extension of certain responsibilities up to 200nms; a 3-pillared approach to marine conservation.

Can the cabinet secretary also give an assurance that licensing arrangements will be aligned with proposals to protect the marine environment under the proposed Bill? There are concerns that the Marine Management Organisation, under the UK Marine Bill, has already had gas and oil removed from its remit, and there is no guarantee that it will be given carbon capture and storage either. This suggests that protection of the marine environment is not being sufficiently considered. Will Marine Scotland play a part here?

Licensing for offshore storage of natural gas and carbon dioxide needs to take full account of environmental risks, and should integrate with future provisions for managing and protecting the marine environment. They should ensure that consultation with stakeholders takes place before licences are granted for importation and storage of combustible gas and carbon dioxide. Can the cabinet secretary provide assurances that this is being looked at?

Presiding Officer,

Liberal Democrats welcome a better, more streamlined approach to marine conservation and management - we've made repeated calls for the introduction of a Marine Bill.

It should however happen sooner rather than later, and I hope that a year from now we won't be having the same debate.

The Scottish Government should not delay the delivery of better marine management and I sincerely hope that the cabinet secretary will be able to offer a timescale for bringing forward the legislation.