Ocean literacy survey: headline findings

Headline findings from an online survey with the public in Scotland on the topic of ocean literacy - exploring the public's understanding of the marine environment. It is part of a wider project covering England and Wales.


Attitudes to climate change

When asked about their view on climate change, the vast majority said the climate is changing (94%). However, views were split on causes of climate change with 50% saying this is due to human activity, 40% saying it is due to a combination of human activity and natural processes, and 4% saying we cannot say whether it is due to human activity. Only 3% said climate change was not due to human activity (Figure 16).

Figure 16: Views on climate change and role of human activity (weighted %)
a bar chart that illustrates respondents’ views of climate change as reported in the previous paragraph.

Q11: Thinking about the changing climate and human activity, which of the following statements come closest to your view?

Unweighted base: 3,055

Dimensions

  • Attitudes
  • Knowledge

Respondents were informed that Marine Protected Areas are specific areas of the marine environment which are managed to achieve long-term nature conservation and sustainable use, and were then asked the extent to which they support or oppose the creation of Marine Protected Areas in Scotland (Figure 17).

Eighty-five percent supported the creation of Marine Protected Areas in Scotland, including 47% who strongly supported this, and just 2% opposed it.

Figure 17: Support for Marine Protected Areas (weighted %)
a bar chart that illustrates respondents’ views of Marine Protected Areas as reported in the previous two paragraphs.

NQ3: To what extent do you support or oppose the creation of Marine Protected Areas in Scotland?

Unweighted base: 3,055

Dimensions

  • Attitudes
  • Knowledge

Contact

Email: socialresearch@gov.scot

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