The Scottish government announced new fisheries management measures for offshore marine protected areas (MPAs) on 1 September, marking an important step in fulfilling its obligations to protect marine wildlife across a large area of Scotland’s seas.
Scotland’s offshore MPAs – those beyond 12 nautical miles from the shore – were designated more than 10 years ago to conserve and recover the most vulnerable marine habitats and species in our deep and continental shelf seas. The Scottish government is required by law to secure the long-term integrity of these areas by putting in place fisheries management measures that prevent damaging activities, such as bottom-towed fishing, from undermining conservation objectives.
Scottish Environment LINK welcomes the Scottish government’s progress in strengthening fisheries management measures across offshore MPAs. We are encouraged by the thorough approach taken, particularly in cases such as the Central Fladen MPA where burrowed mud habitats have received strengthened protection. Since burrowed mud and other seabed habitats are important blue carbon stores, it is also encouraging to see some areas of the seabed closed to bottom towed gear. We also welcome the inclusion of restrictions on floating longlines and bottom set gillnets in part of the network, given their high risk of bycatch for species like seabirds.
However, given the scale of biodiversity decline, both globally and Scotland-wide, we believe a more consistently precautionary approach is needed. While it is encouraging to see some closures that support species and habitats, full-site prohibitions on bottom-towed fishing should have been applied more widely to safeguard ecosystem integrity and support recovery of more blue carbon habitats. While zonal restrictions are preferable to inaction, they risk leaving important habitats exposed and compromise the wider resilience of marine ecosystems.
We are nonetheless disappointed that only select offshore MPAs received a full-site ban on bottom-towed fishing. As noted in our October 2024 consultation response, while the zonal approach is preferable to inaction, it often fails to deliver ecosystem-wide protection or meet site integrity objectives, especially for fragile seabed habitats and deep-sea features. To deliver meaningful ecosystem recovery, we need holistic, whole-site management underpinned by Remote Electronic Monitoring (REM) to ensure compliance and build confidence in the protection of vulnerable habitats.
The condition of Scotland’s seabed remains a matter of concern, as documented by the government’s own assessments. Without a more consistently precautionary approach, we are not confident these measures will be sufficient to meet Scotland’s legal obligations to achieve Good Environmental Status. The government’s current proposals fall short of the holistic management that these critical habitats and species require. Where measures are partial, they risk leaving vulnerable features and blue carbon stores exposed to damage. While we welcome progress in a few instances, Scottish Environment LINK continues to advocate for wider and more precautionary whole-site protection.
Evidence shows that holistic, whole-site protection delivers long-term socio-economic benefits, including improved fisheries yields, greater ecosystem resilience, and enhanced blue carbon storage. Stronger measures would therefore not only protect biodiversity but also secure benefits for coastal communities and the wider Scottish economy.
We also note the strength of public feeling on this issue, with nearly 4,000 responses to the consultation. Scottish Environment LINK’s e-action alone on the consultation received responses from over 1,700 people, reflecting widespread support for more ambitious protection of Scotland’s seas.
We are pleased to see progress and look forward to the forthcoming consultation on inshore MPA measures as an opportunity to embed stronger, whole-site protection more widely across Scotland’s seas.