Publication - Impact assessment
West of Scotland Marine Protected Area: business and regulatory impact assessment
Business and regulatory impact assessment (BRIA) which looks at the social and economic impacts of the designation of the West of Scotland Marine Protected Area.
Annex B: Summary of Ecosystem Services Benefits arising from the Designation and Management of the Site
| Services | Relevance to Site |
On-site / Off-site |
Baseline Level | Estimated Impacts of Management | Value Weighting | Scale of Benefits | Confidence | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lower estimate | Intermediate estimate | Upper estimate | |||||||
| Fish and shellfish for human consumption | Moderate, important spawning sites[4] | On and Off | Many stocks’ biomass are not at MSY | Nil | Deep sea species to benefit from protection | Moderate, spawning areas for commercial species such as anglerfish – specifically on continental slopes around Rockall and juveniles have been observed around the Rockall Bank area. Key habitats e.g. for elasmobranchs [5] | Low | Moderate | |
| Fish and shellfish for non-human consumption | Stocks reduced from potential maximum | ||||||||
| Climate regulation | Moderate–high, carbon storage in deep sea habitats | On | Uncertain but potentially important services | Minimal | Moderate | Minimal | Moderate | ||
| Waste breakdown/ detoxification | Low | On-site | Low–moderate | Minimal | Low | Minimal | Low | ||
| Non-use value of natural environment | Moderate, deep sea features (e.g. sponges) and sites, have non-use value | On-site | Non-use value of the site may decline | Moderate, protection of features of site from potential future decline | Low–Moderate, protection of features is valued non-users | Moderate | Moderate, extent of features, and value to society all uncertain | ||
| Research and Education | Moderate, a number of biological features have research value[6] | On-site | Value of site may decline | Low, protection of key characteristics of site from decline, improving future research opportunities | Moderate | Low–Moderate | Low, extent to which research uses site in future uncertain. | ||
| Genetic Resources | |||||||||
| Supporting services | High | On-site and off-site | Moderate | Designation and management reduces risks of future decline | Moderate | Low | Moderate | ||
Contact
Email: marine_conservation@gov.scot
There is a problem
Thanks for your feedback