Marine Protected Area network: 2024 report to the Scottish Parliament

2. Purpose of report

The information contained within this report is a requirement of Section 103 of the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 and Section 124 of the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009; to report to the Scottish Parliament on Scotland's Marine Protected Area (MPA) network.

Reports are required to be published every six years. There have been two previous reports to Parliament, both of which are available online:

• 2012 Report
• 2018 Report

This report also includes the recognition of one other effective area-based conservation measure (OECM)^[1] which contributes to the conservation of our seas. Whilst not necessarily established for conservation purposes, OECMs contribute to the spatial protection measures that meet the obligations of the UK Marine Strategy Regulations. Recognition of further areas will be kept under review.

In addition to these statutory requirements, this report also includes a number of case studies on particular sites in the MPA network to illustrate where progress has been made over the past six years.