Publication - Impact assessment

Draft Partial Island Communities Impact Assessment (ICIA) – Fisheries Management Measures within Scottish Offshore Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)

Published: 19 August 2024
From: Acting Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy, +1 more … Director of Marine
Directorate: Marine Directorate
Topic: Environment and climate change, Marine and fisheries
ISBN: 9781836015222

This assessment is undertaken to consider the impacts of the measures under consideration on island communities in Scotland.

Supporting documents

Annex A Proposed fisheries management measures under each site

Table A1 Offshore MPAs for which two management measures options are proposed, the protected features and proposed management measures
Site name	Protected Feature	Measures proposed under Option 1	Measures proposed Option 2
The Barra Fan and Hebrides Terrace Seamount NCMPA	Seamount communities Offshore sand and gravels/ Deep-sea muds	Full site exclusion of demersal mobile gear Zonal exclusion static gear	Full site exclusion of demersal mobile and static gear
Central Fladen NCMPA	Burrowed Mud	Zonal exclusion of demersal mobile gear	Full site exclusion of demersal mobile gear
East of Gannet and Montrose Fields NCMPA	Offshore deep-sea muds Ocean Quahog aggregations (including sands and gravels and their supporting habitat)	Full site exclusion of mechanised dredge and beam trawling Zonal exclusion of demersal trawls	Full site exclusion of demersal mobile gear (excluding seines)
East Rockall Bank SAC	Stony, bedrock and biogenic reefs	Zonal exclusion of demersal mobile and static gear	Full site exclusion of demersal mobile and static gear
Faroe-Shetland Sponge Belt NCMPA	Deep sea sponge aggregations Offshore subtidal sands and gravels Ocean Quahog aggregations	Zonal exclusion of demersal mobile and static gear	Full site exclusion of demersal mobile and static gear
Firth of Forth Banks Complex NCMPA	Ocean Quahog aggregations Offshore subtidal sands and gravels	Zonal exclusion of demersal mobile gear (except seines)	Full site exclusion of demersal mobile gear (excluding seines)
Geikie Slide and Hebridean Slope NCMPA	Burrowed mud (seapens and burrowing megafauna) Offshore subtidal sands and gravels Offshore deep-sea muds	Zonal exclusion of demersal mobile gear	Full site exclusion of demersal mobile gear
North-East Faroe-Shetland Channel NCMPA	Deep sea sponge aggregations Offshore sands and gravels, deep sea muds	Zonal exclusion of demersal mobile and static gear	Full site exclusion of demersal mobile and static gear
Northwest Rockall Bank SAC	Stony and Biogenic reef	Zonal exclusion of demersal mobile and static gear	Full site exclusion of demersal mobile and static gear
Norwegian Boundary Sediment Plain NCMPA	Ocean Quahog aggregations (including sands and gravels as their supporting habitat)	Full site exclusion of mechanised dredge, beam trawl and demersal trawl Zonal exclusion of seines	Full site exclusion of demersal mobile gear
Pobie Bank Reef SAC	Bedrock and Stony reef	Zonal exclusion of demersal mobile gear	Full site exclusion of demersal mobile gear
Solan Bank Reef SAC	Bedrock and Stony reef	Full site exclusion of mechanised dredge and beam trawling Full site exclusion of demersal trawls and seines excluding September and October, when permitted in defined zones	Full site exclusion of demersal mobile gear year-round
Stanton Banks SAC	Bedrock and Stony reef	Zonal exclusion of demersal mobile gear	Full site exclusion of demersal mobile gear
West Shetland Shelf MPA	Offshore subtidal sands and gravels	Zonal exclusion of demersal trawls and seines Full site exclusion of mechanised dredges and beam trawling	Full site exclusion of demersal mobile gear
Wyville-Thomson Ridge SAC	Stony and bedrock reef	Zonal exclusion of demersal mobile and static gear	Full site exclusion of demersal mobile and static gear

Table A2 Offshore MPAs for which only one management measure options is proposed, the protected features and proposed management measures
Site name	Protected feature	Management measures proposed
Anton Dohrn Seamount MPA	Stony, bedrock and biogenic reef	Demersal mobile gears and demersal static gears prohibited throughout site.
Braemar Pockmarks SAC	Submarine structures made by leaking gases	Demersal mobile and demersal static gears prohibited throughout site.
Darwin Mounds SAC	Stony, bedrock and biogenic reef	Demersal mobile and demersal static gears prohibited throughout site.
Scanner Pockmark SAC	Submarine structures made by leaking gases	Demersal mobile gears and demersal static gears prohibited throughout site.
Turbot Bank MPA	Sandeels	Targeted fishing for sandeel prohibited throughout site.
West of Scotland NCMPA	Burrowed mud Deep-sea sponge aggregations Coral gardens Cold-water coral reefs Offshore deep-sea muds Offshore subtidal sands and gravels	Demersal mobile and demersal static gears prohibited throughout site.

Contact

Email: marine_biodiversity@gov.scot

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Information

Annex A Proposed fisheries management measures under each site

Contact

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