Fisheries management measures within Scottish Offshore Marine Protected Areas (MPAs): consultation analysis

Appendix 4: SE Link campaign response

Scottish Environment Link campaign response to Scottish Government public consultation on fisheries management measures within Scottish offshore Marine Protected Areas.

19 Aug – 14 Oct 2024

Dear Cabinet Secretary,

Support for full site fisheries management measures

I strongly support the Scottish government’s proposed full site fisheries management measures in offshore marine protected areas (MPAs).

Scotland’s deep-sea and continental shelf ecosystems host remarkable biodiversity, including cold-water coral reefs, whales, sharks and many species of fish. Ancient cold-water coral reefs provide a home for hundreds of other species, plus essential nutrients that are transported by the currents to shallower waters. These ecosystems are also key to helping tackle the climate crisis - seabed sediments, for example, are important long term carbon stores, storing more carbon than all Scotland’s forests.

However, the accelerating climate and nature crisis poses a significant threat to these slow-growing and fragile environments. Once damaged, they can take decades to recover. We urgently need to safeguard these vital components of our marine environment.

Scotland’s Marine Assessment 2020 makes clear the urgent need to address the impact of commercial fishing pressures on marine ecosystems. For our marine protected areas to help us restore marine ecosystems and tackle the climate crisis, I believe it’s vital that the bespoke restrictions designed for each marine protected area should apply across the whole of that area - ensuring that trawling and other damaging forms of fishing can no longer harm these rich natural habitats. Other pressures on marine protected areas, including pollution, noise and inappropriate developments, must also be addressed.

Delivery of wider management measures

While marine protected areas can, if properly managed, play a pivotal role in safeguarding Scotland’s seas, it is also crucial to recognise that they cannot on their own bring about ocean recovery. I urge you to ensure that marine planning and fisheries management throughout our seas are transformed so that all activities are nature and climate friendly.

Yours sincerely,