Proposal to designate Red Rocks and Longay as a Marine Protected Area: consultation analysis

1 Introduction

1.1 The Scottish Government has proposed creating a permanent Marine Protected Area (MPA) within the Inner Sound of Skye by Red Rocks and Longay. A consultation seeking views on this proposal and the future management of the MPA was carried out between February and April 2022. This report presents findings from an analysis of responses to that consultation.

Policy context

1.2 The Scottish Government would like to see a marine environment that is clean, healthy, safe, productive and biologically diverse – and which meets the long-term needs of nature and people.

1.3 Scotland's network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) plays a key part in delivering that vision by helping to safeguard important natural and cultural heritage features based on the principle of sustainable use. An MPA is defined by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as 'a clearly defined geographical space, recognised, dedicated and managed, through legal or other effective means, to achieve the long-term conservation of nature with associated ecosystem services and cultural values'.^[1]

1.4 Ministers are committed to developing Scotland's MPA network. The current network consists of 245 sites and protects 37 per cent of Scotland's seas. In addition to MPAs, the network includes areas that provide nature conservation benefits (Other Area Based Measures) or protect the historic environment (Historic MPAs), and areas for demonstrating or researching marine management (Demonstration and Research MPAs).

1.5 An area within the Inner Sound of Skye by Red Rocks and Longay was urgently designated as an MPA in March 2021, following the discovery of the largest flapper skate nursery in Scotland. An urgent Marine Conservation Order (MCO) was put in place at the same time. The flapper skate population in the seas off the British Isles has declined steadily over the last century. The species is also regarded as threatened, declining or endangered in European waters by OSPAR^[2] and IUCN.

1.6 Scottish Ministers now wish to designate the area as an MPA on a permanent basis and make an associated MCO. The process for establishing a permanent MPA is set out in the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010. This Act requires Ministers to carry out a public consultation prior to establishing a permanent MPA.

The consultation

1.7 In line with the requirements of the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010, the Scottish Government has consulted on two related issues, as follows:

• A proposal to designate Red Rocks and Longay as a nature conservation MPA on a permanent basis to protect flapper skate eggs and the Quaternary of Scotland geodiversity feature that is providing essential habitat for flapper skate egg-laying
• A proposal to make a Marine Conservation Order (MCO) on a permanent basis to further the stated conservation objectives for the Red Rocks and Longay MPA.

1.8 The consultation paper issued by the Scottish Government sets out the process for the designation of MPAs (including the requirement to consult) and describes the current network of protected areas around Scotland's coast. It set out the background to Red Rocks and Longay's designation as an MPA on an urgent basis. It then summarised the scientific advice, conservation objectives, management advice, management measures, and monitoring arrangements in relation to the creation of a permanent MPA. A partial Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA) and draft Island Communities Impact Assessment (ICIA) have also been carried out and the results of these exercises were summarised. Links to these and other relevant documents were provided alongside the consultation paper.

1.9 The accompanying consultation questionnaire contained seven numbered questions – four two-part questions comprised of a closed (tick-box) question and an open question asking respondents to explain their response, and three single-part open questions. The questions focused on the designation of a permanent MPA (Question 1); the scientific case for the designation and the proposed protected features of the MPA (Question 2 and Question 3); and the management of the proposed MPA (Question 4 and Question 5). Comments were also invited on the partial BRIA and draft ICIA (Question 6 and Question 7).

1.10 The consultation paper was published on the Scottish Government consultation website on 1 February 2022 with views invited by 26 April 2022. Respondents could complete an online questionnaire or submit a response via email or post. To support the consultation, the Scottish Government hosted a series of drop-in online information sessions in late March 2021. These sessions were aimed at providing general information on the consultation and consultation process, the proposed MPA site and protected features and were attended by five people, all of whom were representatives of organisations with an interest in the proposal.

About the analysis

1.11 This report is based on a robust and systematic analysis of the responses to the consultation. Frequency analysis was undertaken in relation to all the closed questions, and the findings are shown in tables throughout the report. For each question, the table shows the number of respondents, and the percentage of all respondents answering the question who selected each response option. The relatively small number of responses received should, however, be noted in interpreting the quantitative findings presented.

1.12 Qualitative analysis was undertaken of the comments made in response to each question. The aim of this analysis was to identify the main themes and the full range of views expressed in response to each question (or group of questions), and to explore areas of agreement and disagreement among respondents.

1.13 As with all consultations it is important to bear in mind that the views of those who have responded are not representative of the views of the wider population. Individuals (and organisations) who have a keen interest in a topic – and the capacity to respond – are more likely to participate in a consultation than those who do not. This self-selection means that the views of consultation participants cannot be generalised to the wider population.

1.14 For this reason, the approach to consultation analysis is primarily qualitative in nature. Its main purpose is not to identify how many people held particular views, but rather to understand the full range of views expressed.

The report

1.15 The remainder of this report is structured as follows:

• Chapter 2 presents information on the respondents to the consultation and the responses submitted.
• Chapters 3 to 5 present the results of the analysis of the responses to the consultation questions.

1.16 Annexes to the report present a list of organisational respondents (Annex 1); response rates for individual questions (Annex 2); details of references cited by respondents in their responses (Annex 3); and a summary of respondent views on the consultation process (Annex 4).