Draft Fisheries Assessment – Faroe-Shetland Sponge Belt NCMPA: Fisheries management measures within Scottish Offshore Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)

5. Management Options

5.1 Overview of management options

Management measures are being considered by Scottish Ministers and any decision as to which measures ought to be taken forward will follow upon a statutory public consultation exercise. Any such decision will also be taken in line with the Scottish Ministers obligations in relation to the exercise of their functions.

The socioeconomic impacts and costs of each management option (no additional management, zoned management, and full site exclusion) have been assessed within the Socio-Economic Impact Assessment (SEIA) and Sustainability Appraisal (SA), and are not discussed within this fisheries assessment. Nor are other considerations, statutory and non-statutory, which the Scottish Ministers may be required to take into account when assessing whether the imposition of a particular measure is appropriate.

This section assesses the suitability of the management options in light of the conservation objectives, biological characteristics of protected features, and current activity levels for Faroe-Shetland Sponge Belt NCMPA.

5.2 Assessment of management options

5.2.1 No additional management

The assessment identified that management measures would be required to avoid hindering the achievement of the conservation objectives from mobile demersal gear and demersal static gear. Thus, the option of no management is not considered further.

5.2.2 Zoned management

Zoned fisheries management measures (Figure 6) would be introduced to reduce/limit pressures exerted by demersal mobile and demersal static gear. This would involve;

• Zonal exclusion of all demersal mobile gears from the northern section of the site (31%), and
• Zonal exclusion of all demersal mobile and demersal static gears within the southern section of the site (42%).

There are no fisheries management measures for pelagic gears considered.

Deep-sea sponge aggregations are considered to be a VME and also listed by OSPAR as threatened and/or declining habitat or species in the Northeast Atlantic. They are sensitive to impact from all demersal fishing types. Therefore, there is no alternative to excluding all of these fishing methods from the area of the NCMPA there they occur.

To ensure representation of communities associated with offshore subtidal sand and gravel in deeper waters within the site, the advice from JNCC is to reduce or limit pressure. In this zoned management option, 73% of the site would be closed to all demersal mobile gears with the preference to prevent further pressure being exerted in the future.

The zoned management approach would contribute to the ecological coherence of both the Scottish MPA Network and the broader OSPAR MPA Network. The approach should also further progress towards Good Environmental Status in the Greater North Sea, particularly in relation to Descriptors 1 (biological diversity) and 6 (sea-floor integrity).

This approach also protects the ocean quahog aggregations which are also listed by OSPAR as a threatened and/or declining species in the North Sea. Therefore, the measures will be a contribution to recovery of these OSPAR listed features. These measures would make a significant contribution towards recovery of the species.

Having considered the conservation and fisheries management advice from the statutory nature conservation bodies, and the wider evidence contained within this assessment, Scottish Ministers consider that zoned management measures would not hinder the achievement of conservation objectives for Faroe-Shetland Sponge Belt NCMPA, but would rather further them.

5.2.3 Full site exclusion

A full site exclusion would remove/avoid all pressures associated with fishing activities using demersal mobile and demersal static gears across the whole site (Figure 7). Removing all pressured associated with these gears would support the achievement of the conservation objectives of the NCMPA.

The full site exclusion of mobile demersal gear would contribute to the ecological coherence of both the Scottish MPA Network and the broader OSPAR MPA Network. These measures would make a significant contribution towards recovery of the species. They should also further progress towards Good Environmental Status in the Greater North Sea, particularly in relation to Descriptors 1 (biological diversity) and 6 (sea-floor integrity).

Given the available evidence, Scottish Ministers consider that full site exclusion would not hinder the achievement of the conservation objectives for the Faroe-Shetland Sponge Belt NCMPA, rather it would further those objectives.

5.3 Management options conclusions

Scottish Ministers consider that adopting no additional management of fisheries activity within the site would, or might, hinder the achievement of the conservation objectives for Faroe-Shetland Sponge Belt NCMPA.

Scottish Ministers consider that both the zoned management measures and the full site exclusion measures outlined for demersal mobile and demersal static gear would further the achievement of the conservation objectives.

The decision on which management option is to be taken forward will be taken in the light of all relevant duties incumbent upon the Scottish Ministers in relation to the exercise of their functions and following upon a statutory public consultation exercise in which views on the options under consideration are invited.