Save Scottish Seas
Scotland’s seas are world-class; home to amazingly diverse sealife, but they are in decline. Out-of-sight and out-of-mind for years, our marine environment has suffered from a history of unsustainable use. Now MPAs can help our seas to recover.
2014 could prove to be a turning point in the history of Scotland’s seas. The Scottish Government has recently designated 30 new Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). But for the sake of our environment and economy, Scotland needs these MPAs to be implemented in the right way. They cannot be meaningless paper parks; Scotland’s Marine Atlas shows all too clearly why the status quo is not an option. Our campaign is urging the Scottish Government to put in place a network that will actively recover the habitats and species that make our seas so special. It is a historic opportunity to turn around the declining health of our seas and to protect them for future generations.
Latest news
Video campaign for Scotland’s seas
Members of this campaign are deeply concerned that potential new management measures for Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) risk failing to protect and recover the very sea life which MPAs have been set up to protect. We have produced a video which aims to graphically explain the situation and why we must avoid “bureaucracy without benefits.”
The proposals issued by the Scottish Government outline a range of scenarios for 20 inshore MPAs, some of which would allow fishing methods such as scallop-dredging and bottom-trawling to continue to damage seabed habitats. This on-going damage to the seafloor has wider, knock-on impacts for our other marine life such as fish, seabirds and marine mammals, which move around, feeding and breeding in these important areas of our sea. The plans are subject to public consultation which closes on 2nd February 2015. Having assessed the consultation options, we are urging people to support stronger protection and support our ACTION: #DontTakeTheP
Protect
Scotland’s seas are home to some truly incredible species and habitats. We want to keep it that way. Find out why our seas need greater protection and how that can be achieved.
Connect
The life in our seas is fundamentally interconnected by water and the ecosystem processes. Marine protection is meaningless if planning does not account for the fundamental linkages between species and habitats in our seas.
Recover
Decades of unsustainable activity has resulted in serious damage to areas of Scotland’s seas. These areas are now in desperate need of recovery. Find out the true state of Scotland’s seas and why we need to restore them to a condition we can all be proud of.
