Armitage meets Loganair officials as Greens pass new marine policy
SHETLAND Greens are celebrating after the Scottish Green Party unanimously passed a new marine policy at its autumn conference at the weekend in Inverness.
The rewrite of the policy was triggered after intervention from the Shetland branch of the Scottish Greens, with local members working extensively on the new policy.
The policy devolves power to coastal and island communities in the management of local fisheries and marine environment, drawing from the model of the Shetland Shellfish Management Organisation.
It commits to extra funding on marine research and enforcement, ensuring that fisheries management is based on high quality, locally derived scientific research.
The issue of marine spatial squeeze is also addressed in the policy, which will now see Greens calling for mandatory fisheries impact assessments alongside existing environmental impact assessments for new offshore wind farm applications.
Shetland’s Green councillor Alex Armitage was among those who developed and wrote the new policy.
He said: “The debacle of the proposed HPMA [highly protected marine area] legislation in 2023 soured what I believe should be a good relationship between Greens and fishermen; we all know how dependent our fishing economy is on a thriving marine ecology.
“The need to protect our sustainable, locally-owned fishing fleet is paramount, not only for our local economy in Shetland, but also to continue to provide a nutritious, affordable, low carbon dietary protein source for millions of people around the world.”
Green councillor Alex Armitage also recently met with senior Loganair staff in Glasgow to discuss a range of topics, from the Air Discount Scheme to plans to decarbonise flights.
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“Reflecting on my visit, it struck me that the need to run a commercial operation does not always sit easily with providing a lifeline service to island communities,” he said.
“I was impressed with the dedication of Loganair staff who frequently go out of their way to take this responsibility seriously.”
“In my view, Scotland needs to learn from the experience of other countries where there is far more government intervention in provision of lifeline regional air services. There are many models to consider and I look forward to future discussions on this topic.”
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