The First Minister:

I will deal with Finlay Carson’s comments about the Scottish Government by putting on record some of the comments of those who work in the sector. The chief executive of the Scottish White Fish Producers Association has talked about the

“Great support for our Scallop fishermen from the Scottish Government”; and West Coast Sea Products, which is a Kirkcudbright-based processor and owner of vessels, has said that it welcomes the action that is being taken by the Scottish Government to invoke the dispute resolution process. The Scottish Government has been acting on behalf of our scallop fishermen.

As Finlay Carson said, I spoke to the Chief Minister of the Isle of Man this morning. I made very clear our opposition to the restrictions that the Isle of Man has put in place and our strong view—which I accept that the Isle of Man disagrees with—that those restrictions breach the fisheries management agreement that is in place. I also said that we would use the dispute resolution mechanism in the event that a resolution is not found.

I am glad to say that this morning’s discussion with the Chief Minister was very constructive and positive. The Isle of Man will review its position, and I am very hopeful that we will reach a mutually satisfactory resolution of the issue within the next week. Hopefully, we will reach a position that is in the interests of our scallop fishermen. If we do, that will be partly because of the action that Fergus Ewing has been taking.