Scotland’s fishing communities are being given a chance to have their say in how the nation’s inshore fisheries are managed in a series of consultation meetings, starting tonight in Fife.

Anstruther Town Hall will host the first of the series of meetings at 7pm tonight, and there are a further five currently scheduled to discuss the future well-being of coastal communities and how best we look after our inshore fisheries. 

Meetings will also be held in Ullapool, Shetland, Kirkcudbright, Kirkwall and Benbecula, and further meetings are being arranged in Inverness, Buckie, Aberdeen, Oban and the Clyde.

Lochhead said: “In recent years, largely through the efforts of the Scottish Inshore Fisheries Advisory Group, some good work has been done to introduce a system that delegates responsibility to fishermen and others involved in the industry. 

“However, I know that progress has not always been as fast or as straightforward as we would have liked. 

“I would like to know why this has been the case, how best we can meet the expectations of all stakeholders and put in place a management system that really can deliver our shared goal of profitable and sustainable inshore fisheries. 

“During the meetings, my officials will seek the views of all those with an interest in the future well being of our fishing communities on how to refine and develop Inshore Fisheries Groups.”

Those unable to attend the meetings can send written submissions to the Inshore Team at Scottish Executive, Room 506, Pentland House, Edinburgh EH14 1TY, or by e-mail to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it   

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