Marine Protected Area network: 2024 report to the Scottish Parliament

12. Compliance and enforcement of MPAs

Monitoring compliance of MPAs

Marine Directorate Compliance Operations is responsible for enforcing compliance with MPA management measures for fishing activity and for monitoring activity across the MPA network. Compliance monitoring is carried out remotely using a Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) which tracks all vessels over 12 metres, and now Remote Electronic Monitoring (REM) for all scallop dredge vessels. Additionally, the Scottish Government also operate three Marine Protection Vessels and two surveillance aircraft which patrol Scotland's seas, two Rigid Inflatable Boats (RIBs) covering inshore waters, a 24-hour monitoring centre and 18 coastal offices. A risk-based system is used to prioritise tasking of these assets, which also considers intelligence reports from the public.

Additionally, to support compliance in 2022 a speed restriction was placed on vessels fishing at Rockall which introduced a minimum speed at which a vessel could transit protected areas. This simple measure was easier to enforce and has proved successful in preventing incursions in an area where physical inspections can be challenging due to the exposed Atlantic conditions.

Enforcement

Where sufficient evidence indicates a breach of management measures have occurred, the matter may be referred to the Procurator Fiscal who in turn may decide to pursue a criminal prosecution. As an alternative, an accused may be offered a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN). This is a civil penalty which ranges from

£500 to £10,000 and may include a consideration to the value of any illegally caught fish. Further guidance on can be found on the fixed penalty notices page of the Scottish Government website.

The Marine Directorate now publish enforcement statistics which detail the number of reports of alleged fishing in restricted areas and the number of cases pursued since 2020. Due to the technical nature of fishing and the different management measures between MPAs, reports of illegal fishing do not necessarily prove wrongdoing and can be inaccurate. Each report is investigated and pursued where infringements have been detected.

Since 2020, there have been 13 cases submitted to Marine Directorate Enforcement and Assurance team for suspected fishing offences within and in relation to a Marine Protected Area (MPA). Of these, four cases resulted in a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) being issued; three cases were referred to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) following non-payment of an FPN and two cases were referred directly to COPFS, both of which resulted in fines.

Up to date enforcement statistics can be found on the Reporting statistics from marine and fisheries compliance page of the Scottish Government website.

Entry into an MPA is legal (for example, to take shelter) so there needs to be robust evidence proving that actual illegal fishing activity has taken place before enforcement action is taken. Technological improvements such as Remote Electronic Monitoring (REM) on scallop dredge vessels and simplified additional measures are having a positive impact, the effectiveness of these controls are continuously monitored.