Seafood sector input into development of ‘aspirational’ food policy
A new plan setting out how the Scottish Government will work with businesses and organisations to help connect people to locally produced, high-quality food has been given a broad welcome by the fishing and seafood industry in Scotland.
The proposed National Good Food Nation Plan has now been laid before the Scottish Parliament, following a consultation last year. It lists existing Scottish Government food-related commitments, policies and initiatives, including name-checks for seafood measures: the Future Fisheries Management Strategy, the Inshore Fisheries Management Improvement Programme, Marine Fund Scotland, the Vision for Sustainable Aquaculture and the Strategy for Seafood.
Commenting on the plan, Elspeth Macdonald, chief executive of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation (SFF), said: “SFF has provided input, and comments to the Scottish Government as they’ve been developing their Good Food Nation Plan, which was published at the end of June. The plan is aspirational, and the Scottish Government rightly acknowledges that it will take considerable time and effort to achieve the desired outcomes.
“The plan helpfully draws together a number of policy areas that will underpin work to move towards Scotland being a Good Food Nation, and SFF welcomes the recognition of commercial fishing as a critical part of Scotland’s food infrastructure.
“Our industry is proud to be a key part of Scotland’s food industry, and we will continue to work with Scottish Government on the ambitions set out in the Good Food Nation Plan.”
The plan’s conclusion refers to ‘the challenge of a totally new approach to our development of food policy’, with the Scottish Government aiming to move towards a systems approach ~ generally defined as an holistic approach to problem-solving which takes into account the complexities of the overall system (in this case the food system), rather than only focusing on individual parts (such as specific policies or issues), which can lead to a disjointed approach.
Trade and marketing organisation Seafood Scotland noted that many of the ongoing policy measures and initiatives in the proposed plan align with its existing work, with industry engagement manager Jeni Adamson saying: “While the National Good Food Nation Plan doesn’t introduce many new commitments specific to the sector, it does create an opportunity to embed seafood more visibly and strategically within wider food policy discussions, including public health, education, local supply chains and access to good food for all.
“The concluding comments in the plan suggest a more ambitious and joined-up approach to food policy in Scotland – one that could go beyond existing commitments and become something genuinely bold and transformative. Through our work on many of the initiatives mentioned, as well as our partnership with Nourish Scotland on the ‘Fish+ in a Good Food Nation’ project, we’ve seen real appetite across the sector to play a more active role in shaping the direction of food policy.
“If this ‘new way of working’ leads to stronger inclusion of seafood in areas like public engagement, procurement, nutrition and access to local markets, it could mark a very welcome step forward for the sector – and for Scotland’s ambitions as a Good Food Nation.”
By Martin Harvey
This story was taken from the latest issue of Fishing News. For more up-to-date and in-depth reports on the UK and Irish commercial fishing sector, subscribe to Fishing News here or buy the latest single issue for just £3.50 here.
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