Assessing fisheries displacement by other licensed marine activities: good practice guidance - literature review

6 Stakeholder consultation

Consultation was carried out with the intention of ensuring coverage of multiple interested parties which may be in some way be affected by the impact pathway of displacement.

Consultation was undertaken with the FFSRG. This group was originally established by Marine Scotland to inform the development of the ScotMER Evidence Maps and is considered to also be relevant for the current scope of work. Marine Scotland during the development of the receptor group aimed to ensure balanced representation from each of the fishing and offshore wind industries, Marine Scotland (multiple relevant branches), Regional Inshore Fisheries Groups, research institutions, and government advisory bodies.

Consultation has been a key information source for the literature review, and has ensured all relevant interested parties have had the opportunity to provide feedback for inclusion, where possible, into the Good Practice Guidance itself, or where applicable to highlight knowledge gaps which may require further research.

Three 1- hour consultation workshops were carried out with the FFSRG, with additional consultation undertaken by phone/email as needed. The workshops included a round-table discussion on the approach and methodology of the Literature Review and Good Practice Guidance, with targeted questions on the aspects of the documents which were considered to be a primary focus for stakeholder feedback, including data sources to inform the Literature Review and Good Practice Guidance, details on commercial fishing operating practices, knowledge gaps and areas of future research, and commercial fisheries data and presentation. Draft versions of the Literature Review and Good Practice Guidance were also issued to the FFSRG for comment over a three-week period.

The list of consultees from the FFSRG is provided in Table 6.1. A summary of the feedback which was received during the consultation process is provided in Section 8.

Table 6.1 Representatives in the Fish and Fisheries Specialist Receptor Group

Organisation

Marine Scotland Science

Marine Scotland Planning and Policy

Marine Scotland Licensing Operations Team

Marine Scotland (Inshore Fisheries Policy)

NatureScot

Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC)

Crown Estate Scotland (CES)

The Crown Estate (TCE)

Scottish Renewables/ Forth and Tay Developers / EDF Renewables

Scottish Fishermen's Federation (SFF)

Moray Firth Developers/Ocean Winds

Scottish Regional Inshore Fisheries Group

Community Inshore Fisheries Alliance (CIFA)

Marine Alliance for Science and Technology (MASTS) MRE Forum

Fisheries Innovation Scotland

Sustainable Inshore Fisheries Trust

Scottish Whitefish Producers Association (SWFPA)