The Scottish fishing and seafood industry has broadly welcomed the Scottish Government’s National Good Food Nation Plan, which aims to connect people with locally produced, high-quality food.
Plan Details and Parliamentary Process
The proposed National Good Food Nation Plan has been laid before the Scottish Parliament following a consultation conducted last year. The plan outlines how the Scottish Government will collaborate with businesses and organizations to promote local food connections.
The document consolidates existing Scottish Government food-related commitments, policies and initiatives, specifically referencing several seafood measures:
- Future Fisheries Management Strategy
- Inshore Fisheries Management Improvement Programme
- Marine Fund Scotland
- Vision for Sustainable Aquaculture
- Strategy for Seafood
Industry Response
Scottish Fishermen’s Federation
Elspeth Macdonald, chief executive of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation (SFF), was quoted in Fishing News as saying:
“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.”
Seafood Scotland
Trade and marketing organization Seafood Scotland noted alignment between the plan’s measures and its existing work. Industry engagement manager Jeni Adamson commented:
“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.”
Policy Approach
The plan’s conclusion references “the challenge of a totally new approach to our development of food policy,” with the Scottish Government aiming to adopt a systems approach. This methodology is defined as a holistic approach to problem-solving that considers the complexities of the overall system rather than focusing solely on individual components, which can result in a disjointed approach.
