A walk along the beach, kayaking around the coast encountering porpoise and orca, fishing for a living or for leisure, and childhood seaside summer holidays – everyone has a story to tell about the value of the ocean. Imagine all that gone or irrevocably changed, and our children or grandchildren could not share in these experiences or livelihoods. If the condition of our seas continues to decline on current trajectories, this may well be the case.
Calling all filmmakers!
How Decisions on Fishing Opportunities in 2020 Will ‘Set the Stage’ for the Future of Our Seas
It has been a challenging year for marine and terrestrial environments across the globe. Multiple reports[1] have highlighted the concerning state of the environment, the tipping point we are reaching, and the need for transformative change in how we manage and use the Earth’s natural resources to avoid “eroding the very foundations of our economies, livelihoods, food security, health and quality of life worldwide”[2].
The deep sea, technically defined as the areas below 200 m water depth, is the largest Ecosystem on Earth but the least explored. Guest blogger Dr Georgios Kazanidis, Post-Doctorate Research Associate in Deep-Sea Biodiversity at the University of Edinburgh and the H2020 ATLAS project, shares some of his insights about this incredible environment.
Earlier this year, the intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) published the most comprehensive assessment ever conducted on the global state of nature. The stark conclusion was that nature is undergoing dangerous rates of decline unprecedented in human history, eroding the very foundations of our economies, livelihoods, food production, health and quality of life worldwide.
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Today, 24th July, marks the 5th anniversary of the Scottish Government’s historic announcement, designating 30 new nature conservation marine protected areas and proposing a further 4 for the protection of features including Risso’s dolphin, minke whale and basking shark (which are under public consultation now!).
A long-awaited public consultation on proposals for four new marine protected areas in Scottish Seas has launched – fittingly, the day before World Oceans Day.
In previous blogs we have talked about the importance of implementing appropriate management measures for human activities in our seas to protect species and habitats, whether within a marine protected area (MPA) or as part of wider management, for example the implementation of a marine spatial plan. We often refer to the term ‘Ecosystem-based Approach’ when we are talking about management measures, which is a fundamental consideration in the design and development of management. Scotland has a legal obligation to do this under its various international conservation agreements (e.g. the Convention on Biological Diversity – CBD – which commits the 196 contracting parties, including the UK, to crucial biodiversity targets designed to safeguard life on earth). But what does it actually mean?
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Progress on Scotland’s MPA network to date
It has been 8 years since the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 received royal assent and was adopted into Scots law. This key piece of legislation, long campaigned for by the Save Scottish Seas coalition, and other environmental and community organisations, represented significant reform for the way marine conservation is carried out in Scotland. (more…)
Did you know that Scotland is home to 3-metre long wild animals that are at greater risk of extinction than the giant panda? John Aitchison, from Friends of the Sound of Jura, a coastal community group based in Knapdale, mid-Argyll, delves into the mysterious and little known flapper skate…
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