Sea of Hebrides Marine Protected Area: business and regulatory impact assessment

Competition Assessment

Designation of the Sea of the Hebrides as an MPA may affect marine activities where businesses operate within a given spatial area or require a spatial licence for new or amended operations. At the Sea of the Hebrides pMPA such activities include:

• Aquaculture – finfish and shellfish farms
• Commercial fishing

There is a varying degree to which competitiveness may be affected, depending on the management. However it is not possible to quantify this, but it is expected that the most likely scenario would have little impact on competitiveness of the industries, given current consent and licensing requirements that will already be taking account of the features for which the MPA is proposed.