Scottish industry leaders laid out the challenges facing the industry from the rapid development of offshore wind farms and the pressures on the inshore sector in a ‘very constructive’ meeting last week with the minister responsible for both energy and inshore fisheries.
The North East of Scotland Fisheries Development Partnership (NESFDP) met Gillian Martin, Scottish minister for energy and the environment, who represents Aberdeenshire East.
Chair of the meeting was Ann Bell, who highlighted the remit of the NESFDP and its joint working with the North Sea Commission Marine Group on issues of common concern and good practice such as co-existence between fishing and other users of the North Sea and local communities.
She said this was particularly resonant as the minister made mention of meetings she had recently attended in Denmark where the importance of working with partners is seen as a high priority.
Mrs Bell said: “We were delighted that the minister took the time to meet with us and for confirming her wish to attend a meeting of the partnership in the New Year.”
SFF chief executive Elspeth Macdonald, who is also vice-chair of NESFDP, set out the challenges that the fishing sector faces due to spatial pressures at sea, especially from the expansion of offshore wind developments, noting the potential impacts not just on fishermen, but also on shore-based parts of the seafood supply chain.
She told Fishing News: “The minister is fairly new in the job and was keen to listen to us and hear our views.
“She is also an Aberdeenshire MSP, so her constituency is within the patch of the partnership.
“I think she does appreciate the industry’s concerns over spatial squeeze and the growth of wind farms. She worked in the energy sector in the North East of Scotland before she went into politics, so I think that’s helpful – I think she understands a lot of that context. https://fishingnews.co.uk/news/wind-farm-challenges-spelled-out-to-scottish-minister/
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