Scottish Parliament – Nov. 18, 2025 – 2

S6M-19739.3: As an amendment to motion S6M-19739 in the name of Mairi Gougeon (Supporting Scotland’s Fishing Industry), leave out from "condemns" to end and insert “regrets that the Scottish Government asked for the Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund to be devolved without first agreeing a mechanism outside of the Barnett formula that reflected the size and value of the Scottish industry;

notes that, since the 2024 election, the Scottish Government has received an additional £5.2 billion of funding compared with previous spending plans;

calls on the Scottish Government to plan for the future of fishing, by developing the processing industry to deal with a larger share of fishing in UK waters and encourage new entrants into the industry, especially within the inshore fleet;

believes that the Scottish Government must invest in scientific research in order to manage Scotland's fish stocks to protect the industry going forward;

regrets that the Scottish Government has not introduced space-based planning of Scotland's seas to ensure that renewable developments do not put pressure on the fishing industry and other marine users, and calls for the development of a scheme to lease additional quota share equitably in order to end the trading of quota and licences.”

Original motion(S6M-19739): That the Parliament condemns the UK Government’s damaging decision to allocate Scotland only £28 million of the £360 million Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund, which is only 7.78% of the fund;

agrees that this is an entirely unfair settlement and calls on the UK Government to reverse this decision, as called for by the Scottish Government and industry stakeholders;

acknowledges that Scotland previously received 46% of the EU funding allocated to the UK;

welcomes that the Scottish fishing sector accounts for over 60% of the UK’s fishing capacity and over 60% of UK seafood exports, and that more than 75% of all UK quota species are landed by Scottish vessels;

recognises the need for continued investment to build a thriving, sustainable and modern fishing industry, which is of key importance to Scotland’s island and coastal communities and the wider economy;

acknowledges the range of challenges facing the fishing industry, including the ongoing negotiations with international partners to agree fishing opportunities for 2026 and the challenging advice for a number of key stocks, and further acknowledges Scotland's negotiating position, which seeks to balance sustainably managed fish stocks alongside a sustainable and prosperous fishing sector.