1. To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing to angling clubs and the rural economy following recent changes to the regulation of wild salmon fishing. (S5O-00231)

The package of conservation measures introduced earlier this year protects our weakest salmon stocks through the introduction of catch and release in areas where stocks are below their conservation limit.

Many angling clubs have expressed concern that the introduction of catch and release would have a negative impact on membership numbers that were already in decline. To help mitigate that potential impact, we made a commitment to provide up to £100,000 of support for angling clubs to promote catch and release as sustainable and responsible practice. The appointment of FishPal as the delivery partner for the two-year programme of support fulfils that commitment. There has been significant interest from angling clubs, and around 30 have signed up to date.

I thank the Minister for her answer, but I can tell her that things are pretty bleak in Dumfriesshire. The “Dumfries common good fishings report” has recently shown that ticket sales in 2016 are down by almost 50 per cent, fishing hotels that are normally packed with visitors are sat empty and haaf-netters on the River Nith have been denied the scientific exemption granted to those on the River Annan. I acknowledge that the Scottish Government has made a commitment of £100,000 to the marketing agency FishPal, but what specific direct support will be given to angling clubs? What consideration has the Scottish Government given to stepping up programmes targeted at schools, such as the fishing for the future programme, which currently operates on the River Nith?

FishPal has been appointed as the delivery partner through a grant award. FishPal is well recognised in the sector as already having established skills and expertise in marketing fisheries. Practical support to ensure continued participation was considered by us to be a more productive way forward than direct aid to clubs, which would have been extremely difficult to assess on a club-by-club basis.

To what extent can the Scottish Government take into account the cultural significance of traditional fisheries when implementing conservation measures?

Part of the consideration for the assessment of any of our rivers already takes into account the various methods used to catch salmon and the likely impact of the activity on the conservation status of the river and our special areas of conservation—I remind members that this is all about ensuring that salmon continue to be available for future anglers as well as current anglers—so the cultural importance of traditional fishing techniques is already factored into the decision making.

Given that the policy is based on flawed statistics, because some of the lochs involved were not fished or, indeed, were fished for the whole time when the statistics were gathered, will the Cabinet secretary revisit that information and work alongside angling clubs to ensure that the policy is based on robust data?

I am conscious that there has been lively debate about the stats on which the policy decision is based. However, I remind Rhoda Grant and others that an annual assessment is being put in place and an assessment of the conservation status of the rivers will be undertaken by Marine Scotland on that rolling basis. I therefore expect some of the debates and arguments to begin to work their way out of the system as we proceed.