The modernisation of wild fisheries management will still require substantial effort and collaboration from a range of stakeholders, Scottish Land & Estates has said.
The organisation has said that whilst it welcomed clarification on a number of issues, including the decision not to overhaul the structure and remit of District Salmon Fishery Board – as well as not introducing rod licences or a new wild fisheries levy – there was still a significant issue on how to resource management of Scotland’s world class fishing sector.
Karen Ramoo, Policy Officer (Conservation & Wildlife Management) at Scottish Land & Estates, said: “We are now more than three years on from the first announcement of a wild fisheries review and whilst today’s announcement by the Cabinet Secretary does represent some progression, it is clear that there will be many years of work still required to modernise the sector’s management structures.
“Scotland is the home of world class fisheries but at the current time, the sector is not being provided with the resources needed to ensure its efficient operation at a local level where we believe decision-making is best implemented.
“We were concerned that plans to introduce rod licences and a new wild fisheries levy would decrease accessibility to the sector. The decision not to implement this will be welcome to many but it should be recognised that extra funds are still required to move management forward.
“There have been achievements over these three years but the pace of change needs to be improved to deal with the burdens that many in the sector currently face. We want to see well-resourced local management in place and our members are committed to working with government and other stakeholders in order to achieve this outcome.”
