Highly Protected Marine Areas - policy framework and site selection guidelines: partial BRIA

7. Consumer Assessment

The introduction of this legislation is not foreseen to have a direct impact on consumers. This would only be the case if there was an aggregate reduction in the number of fish and seafood caught and eaten in Scotland and there was a causal effect between the introduction of this legislation and the aggregate reduction. Scotland is a small open economy and as such it exports most of the fish and seafood that are caught in Scotland - in 2021, Scottish exports of fish and seafood were valued at £1.0 billion (204 thousand tonnes) and accounted for 60% of total Scottish food exports (£1.7bn). And while also importing some the fish and seafood that consumers eat in Scotland, there are not accurate figures on the domestic consumption of landed, farmed or processed seafood, including the origin of this seafood.