Save Scottish Seas

MPAs are part of a sustainable rural Scotland

easdaleMarine Protected Areas (MPAs) have come under some heavy fire from some fishing representatives for potentially “devastating” socio-economic impacts, but we contend MPAs will help to recover our seas and boost the resilience of coastal communities in Scotland. In this blog, we explain why a lot of people around rural Scotland, including many progressive Scottish fishermen, agree: by looking after our marine environment, MPAs can be part of a rural and coastal revival.

It’s now not helpful pretending otherwise: MPAs have become a wee bit divisive. We’ve charted here, here, here and here the various twists and turns of developing a network of Scottish MPAs. But if you don’t have time to read, here’s a quick re-cap: these MPAs are ‘in the water’ (ie they were designated in 2014) but there is still no comprehensive fisheries management (except for emergency measures in South Arran and Wester Ross), which means that our fishing fleets continue to catch fish within these parts of our inshore waters just like before – using a variety of methods … [Continue Reading]

Scottish Parliament dives into detail of MPAs

Scottish Parliament's Rural Affairs Climate Change & Environment CommitteeThis month, the Scottish Parliament’s Rural Affairs Climate Change & Environment (RACCE) Committee took the welcome step of exercising its role of post-legislative scrutiny – and lent its analytical lens to the important issue of Marine Protected Area project and its continued implementation. For anyone not following the detail of what has been a complex three year process, please read this and this. After literally years of campaigning that has slowly encouraged legislative change, we now actually have new MPAs. 30 of them. In the water. Backed up by Scots and UK law. The big question that people now have is:

  • are they enough? (given that in ecological terms, Scotland’s seas need a serious dose of TLC – for more ref, read Our Precious Sea Areas need to rest)
  • what difference will they make?

Gratefully these were some of the questions that were being grappled with by the Scottish Parliament’s RACCE Committee in two separate sessions on the 13th August and 20th August. The first of the evidence sessions included a host of eminent marine scientists specialising in benthic, seabird and sea mammal conservation as well as representatives of Scottish fishermen, Scottish renewables companies and … [Continue Reading]

Marine report tells cautionary tale for Scottish Government

UK Marine report tells cautionary tale for ScotlandA parliamentary report highlighting a chronic “lack of clarity” with English marine protection plans sends a strong signal to the Scottish Government about its proposals for a marine protected area network to safeguard Scotland’s marine biodiversity.

The report by the cross-party UK Science and Technology Committee describes the “frustration” and “anxiety” for industry and other stakeholders caused during efforts to create Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) in England. The consultation is being viewed by many Scottish stakeholders as a stark lesson about the potential pitfalls for Scotland’s Marine Protected Area project if not implemented robustly and … [Continue Reading]

36,000 support MPAs for whales and dolphins

WDC has handed over a huge 36,736 signatures from members of the public to Richard Lochhead, Scotland’s Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Environment, asking the Scottish Government to include whales and dolphins in Scotland’s new marine protected area network.

The handover of the signatures at the Scottish parliament by WDC’s head of policy in Scotland, Sarah Dolman, leading international minke whale expert, Dr Mike Tetley, and Ruaraigh the inflatable Risso’s dolphin was made just a day before Mr Lochhead made a public announcement regarding the Government’s plans for its marine protected area (MPA) network.

In February, WDC launched its campaign to ensure whales and dolphins are included in the list of species to be protected when the Scottish Government makes its decision on which areas of Scottish seas will be protected. In just a few months, WDC has received nearly 37,000 responses from concerned members of the public (including over 100 Scottish and international marine scientists) demonstrating the extreme level of feeling on the matter.

“We have been overwhelmed by the level of support received from the Scottish and international public on this matter and the sheer numbers speak for themselves. We are very pleased that Mr Lochhead agreed to meet with us to receive the signatures and so acknowledge the passionate public feeling on this matter”, said Sarah Dolman.

“Scotland’s seas are truly outstanding, and the Scottish MPA network is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to protect and showcase our amazing whales and dolphins along with other nationally important species and habitats.

“We know that the Scottish Government has the scientific data needed to include whales and dolphins in the MPA network – we helped supply it! They now have to choose whether to provide whales and dolphins with protected areas or to continue to neglect some of Scotland’s most iconic and precious marine species.”

The Scottish Government’s report to the Scottish Parliament contains no commitments to set up MPAs for the priority Scottish species identified, including minke whales, Risso’s dolphins, white beaked dolphins and basking sharks.

We can save Scotland’s seas

Ross Finnie - We can save Scotland's seasScottish Environment LINK’s president, Ross Finnie, discusses the golden opportunity to improve how we govern our marine resource and explains why we must make sure that history does not repeat itself…

The influence of the environmental sector in getting the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 on to the statute book was considerable and it was a major achievement. Everyone is now focussed on the precise delineation of and the powers to be exercised in the Marine Protected Areas (MPAs).

I share the view that this is a substantial opportunity to effect a major policy shift in the sustainable management of our seas with enforceable controls that put environmental considerations at the heart of the process. MPAs can help put the 21st century ambition of the Marine Scotland Act into practice.

I’m very glad LINK has launched the Save Scottish Seas website to attract as much support as possible for measures that will make a difference. I think, however, that there is a great deal of work to be done to make the positive case not only for an ecologically coherent MPA network but also that the management measures are tightly drawn and clearly enforceable. This will inevitably draw stiff opposition and this should not be underestimated.

It’s not an exact parallel, but I encountered a foretaste of this in 2006. Scotland’s two terrestrial National Parks were recently added to the statute books and seemed to have been well accepted, most importantly by those who earned their living within the boundaries of the parks. As the then environment minister I went on to propose a coastal and marine park. As with MPAs, SNH were asked to scope possible areas but with no firm commitment to ‘designate’. All hell broke loose! Despite the fact that farming had continued in the terrestrial parks, it was claimed that a coastal and marine park would mean the end of all forms of marine economic activity, that the selected area would be economically blighted and remote rural communities would disintegrate. In the face of such stern opposition the preliminary proposals had to be withdrawn

The already cogent arguments in favour of MPAs still stand: long term protection of the marine resource, upon which fishermen and many other economic activities rely, as well as the duty to be stewards of our environment for future generations. But these arguments need to be refashioned so that they can be fully understood by a wider audience and command the support of that wider audience. This will require everyone’s openness, patience and collaboration and the support and courage of our representatives.

Ross Finnie, President of Scottish Environment LINK.

Save Scottish Seas

Scottish Environment LINK 13 Marshall Place Perth, PH2 8AH [Contact]

LINK Marine Funders

Currently funding is provided by Marine Conservation Society.  Our new phase, Ocean Recovery will be funded by the John Ellerman Foundation and the William Grant Foundation for three years from April 2021. For full information on previous support see About us Marine Conservation Society

LINK Marine Group members

Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust Marine Conservation Society National Trust for Scotland RSPB Scotland Royal Zoological Society of Scotland Scottish Wildlife Trust WDC WWF Scotland