Fisheries Management Scotland works with Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) to raise important issues relevant to Scotland’s native fish and the aquatic environment. Below you will find a summary of some of our recent work.
Engaging with MSPs is an important means of raising awareness of the issues that salmon and other native fish in Scotland face. 
‘Lobbying’ in this way allows us to inform and influence decisions made
by our elected representatives and policy development by the Scottish Government. As a represetative body, face-to-face lobbying, relating to Scottish Government or Parliamentary functions, with MSPs, members of the Scottish Government, Special Advisers or the Permanent Secretary is considered to be ‘Regulated Lobbying’. Since March 2018, the law has required such regulated lobbying to be recorded in a new Lobbying Register.
Some of our recent events and activities in the Scottish Parliament are set out below. In addition, we monitor current Parliamentary business to ensure that we are informed on developments of interest to our members and our wider organisational objectives. More information on Parliamentary business of relevance to Scotland’s native fish and the aquatic environment is set out [here].
2021 Scottish Parliamentary Elections
During the election campaign, Fisheries Management Scotland invited MSPs to make a public commitment to:
- Make saving Scotland’s salmon a national conservation priority.
- Fund the planting of native trees beside those rivers which Marine Scotland Science has identified as vulnerable to damaging temperature rises.
- Implement in full the unanimous recommendations of the Salmon Interactions Working Group, which was established by the Scottish Government, comprising wild salmon conservation bodies and the fish farming industry.
The following MSPs signed the pledge:
| Name | Party | Constituency | Region |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alasdair Allan | Scottish National Party | Na h-Eileanan an Iar | Highlands and Islands |
| Alexander Burnett | Scottish Conservative & Unionist Party | Aberdeenshire West | North East Scotland |
| Ariane Burgess | Scottish Green Party | Inverness and Nairn | Highlands and Islands |
| Audrey Nicoll | Scottish National Party | Aberdeen South and North Kincardine | North East Scotland |
| Christine Grahame | Scottish National Party | Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale | |
| Donald Cameron | Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party | Argyll and Bute | Highlands and Islands |
| Edward Mountain | Scottish Conservative & Unionist Party | Inverness and Nairn | Highlands and Islands |
| Evelyn Tweed | Scottish National Party | Stirling | |
| Finlay Carson | Scottish Conservative & Unionist Party | Galloway and West Dumfries | South Scotland |
| Jackie Dunbar | Scottish National Party | Aberdeen Donside | |
| Mark Ruskell | Scottish Green Party | Mid Scotland and Fife | |
| Miles Briggs MSP | Scottish Conservative & Unionist Party | Edinburgh Southern | Lothian |
| Monica Lennon | Scottish Labour | Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse | Central Scotland |
| Oliver Mundell | Scottish Conservative & Unionist Party | Dumfriesshire | South Scotland |
| Rachael Hamilton | Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party | Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire | South Scotland |
| Sarah Boyack | Scottish Labour | Lothian | |
| Siobhian Brown | Scottish National Party | Ayr | South Scotland |
January 2020: Making Salmon Conservation a National Priority
In January 2020 Fisheries Management Scotland and Scottish Land & Estates hosted 
a multi-stakeholder event, sponsored by Michelle Ballantyne MSP, to discuss efforts to save our salmon, and to explore the collective efforts required to make a meaningful difference.
The event was attended by a broad range of stakeholders, including representatives of the fisheries management sector, angling businesses, fishery owners, Scottish Government and agencies and a range of non-government organisations with an interest in land, water and environmental management. The presentations delivered can be viewed by clicking on the links below, and a summary of the proceedings has now been published.
May 2019: Exhibition in the Scottish Parliament
2019 was the International Year of the Salmon. 
The aim of this initiative is to protect salmon by bringing people together to share knowledge, raise public awareness and take action. Fisheries Management Scotland managed to secure the exhibition space in the Scottish Parliament, with the support of Oliver Mundell MSP, to engage with MSPs to raise awareness of Atlantic salmon, and the issues faced by this iconic species. This was also an opportunity to promote the extensive array of practical conservation and management work our member district salmon fishery boards and rivers and fishery trusts deliver on a routine basis.
2019: What do wild salmon mean to me?
[What wild salmon mean to me] is a Fisheries Management Scotland led project, working with a range of individuals whose lives are inextricably linked to salmon, to deliver a powerful and passionate message about what salmon mean to people from a broad spectrum of society. This message take the form of succinct and personal stories and are part of our contribution to the International Year of the Salmon. We hope that you find them interesting and thought provoking. Click on the image on the page to read each story.
Read more about International Year of the Salmon