Publication - Impact assessment
Moray Firth Special Protection Area: business and regulatory impact assessment
Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA) of classifying the Moray Firth Special Protection Area.
Appendix A: Ecosystem Services Benefits
| Summary of Ecosystem Services Benefits arising from Classification of the Site as an SPA | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Services | Relevance to Site | Baseline Level | Estimated Impacts of Classification | Value Weighting | Scale of Benefits | Confidence | ||
| Lower | Intermediate | Upper | ||||||
| Fish for human consumption | Moderate, benthic habitats contributes to the food web | Stocks not at MSY | Nil | Low, recovery of fish stocks possible in medium to long term from protection of benthic features | Moderate, recovery of fish stocks possible in medium to long term due to extent of protection of benthic features | Low | Minimal - Low | Moderate |
| Fish for non-human consumption | Stocks reduced from potential maximum | |||||||
| Gas and climate regulation | Minimal | Minimal | Nil | Low | Nil | High | ||
| Non-use value of natural environment | Moderate, bird species, and contribution of the site to MPA network, have non-use value. | Non-use value of the site may decline | Minimal, protection of features of site | Low, maintain features of site | Low - Moderate, protection of features of site from decline, and/or allowing some recovery, but main habitats within site already protected | Moderate, range of features contributes to maintaining biodiversity, and have non-use value similar to Ythan Estuary (Jacobs et al. 2004). | Low - Moderate | Moderate, response of feature to management measures, and value to society, uncertain |
| Recreation | Moderate - High, wildlife tourism and recreation at site | Recreation value of the site may decline | Minimal | Low, protection of features of site that contribute to recreation | Moderate, protection of features of site from decline that contribute to recreation, and/or allowing some recovery | Moderate, recreation and tourism support jobs, but substitutes are available. | Low - Moderate. | Moderate, extent of change from management measures uncertain. |
| Research and Education | Moderate, features have research value, but there are substitutes | Value of site may decline | Minimal | Low, protection maintains future research opportunities. Classification may play role in communicating management needs. | Low, for individual features. Moderate for opportunity to understand response of range of features to management. | Low | Low – Moderate, extent to which research uses site in future uncertain. | |
| Total value of changes in ecosystem services | Minimal for lower scenario, Low - moderate for intermediate and upper scenarios. Based on recreational and non-use value of site. | Low - Moderate | Moderate | |||||
Contact
Email: marine_conservation@gov.scot
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