Clear targets to measure the recovery of our seas

To make sure that the Bill meets its targets in saving Scotland’s marine wildlife, LINK is campaigning for a Marine Bill that includes:

Marine ecosystem objectives – clear targets to ensure the recovery of our seas.

After decades of focussing on the study and management of single species, marine management is evolving towards an ecosystem-based approach. This approach is designed to ensure that management decisions do not adversely affect the function and productivity of the ecosystem, ensuring that marine developments and harvesting of stocks are sustainable.

The development of a robust set of Scottish Marine Ecosystem Objectives is central to implementing an ecosystem-based approach to managing human activities, and would feed into the Marine Spatial Planning system.

The success of Marine Spatial Planning would be measured according to these objectives, with the protection, restoration and enhancement of the marine environment as a core objective, making sure that we operate within the carrying capacity of our seas.

Effective ecosystem objectives should be:

Capable of adapting in the light of advances in scientific knowledge;

Responsive to the dynamic nature of the environment and changes caused by for example climate change;

Open, transparent and inclusive, facilitating input of expertise from marine stakeholders;

Set at an appropriate geographical scale; and

Designed to incorporate the Precautionary Principle where information is limited.