Monitoring the socio-economic impacts of Marine Protected Areas: report

Annex 6. Business Structured Interview Guide

Structured Interview Guide: Businesses

Date:

Location:

Type of business:

Information about the business

How old is the business:

How long have you been involved with the business?

How many people are employed in the business? (Rough figure is fine)

What do you think are the most important factors affecting the success of the business?

Is the business linked/dependent on the marine environment?

Questions about MPAs

How familiar are you with Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)?

-Wait for response then read out following definition-

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are areas of sea that are designated to ensure protection of some of the most vulnerable marine animals and habitats (e.g. marine mammals, seabirds and seagrass beds) and important historic sites (e.g. ship wrecks).

MPAs are protected under Scottish and UK legislation and are managed to reduce the impact of human activities on marine animals and/or habitats. This management can restrict some industries, such as fishing, shipping, renewable developments, oil and gas, which can have both positive and negative economic impacts to different people and businesses.

To what extent do you support or oppose the creation of MPAs in Scotland?

Do you know of any MPAs in the surrounding area? If so, which ones?

Have there been any changes to this business in recent years? Could you give details?

Have you noticed any changes to the community in recent years? Could you give details?

Do you think any of these changes are due to MPAs?

Any further comments?