3. To ask the Scottish Government when it will introduce its wild fisheries bill and what it will contain. (S5O-00601)

Draft provisions for a wild fisheries bill were consulted on last year. We will shortly conclude our consideration of the results of that consultation. In doing so, we will take account, in particular, of the need to protect angling participation and access to angling. As stated in the 2016 programme for government, our intention is to introduce a bill during this parliamentary session. The next programme for government will set out further detail on the Government’s future legislative programme.

Will the Minister take the opportunity now to rule out completely changing the law so that fishing for freshwater fish without a landowner’s consent would go from being a civil case to being a criminal case?

I will not pre-announce details of the bill’s content ahead of the conclusion of our considerations. I can advise the member that discussions are current and active. I have had some communications from other MSPs about a number of different issues that were part of the consultation, but those options are not new and they did not signal Government intent. There are, indeed, risks to angling participation and associated access, which will be key factors influencing any final decision that I make.

What progress has been made to review the inadequate compensation packages that are currently offered to businesses using traditional fishing methods, such as haaf, poke and stake netting on the Solway Firth?

As the member is aware, conversations on that issue are on-going. We are looking at the issues in connection with haaf netting, for example, as part of an on-going project. It started in June last year, and a licence application is being prepared to continue the science work in 2017. All those discussions are on-going, but I am very happy to have a separate conversation if the member wishes to come and see me—again, I think—about the matter concerned and any other matters related to wild fisheries.