New restrictions set to ban fishing and fish farming in designated areas

Scottish Government has set out plans to designate 10% of Scottish waters as Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMAs).

HPMAs will restrict all marine-based human activity, effectively banning all types of commercial fishing and fish farming.

The policy lists a range of other activities that will be prohibited under the new rules, including: non-commercial and recreational fishing; hand gathering and diving; collection by any method of flora, fauna and natural materials, including crustaceans, molluscs, seaweed, fossils, shells, rocks, sediments, seagrass or algae; activities associated with oil and gas exploration and production; activities associated with renewable energy production; and aggregate extraction. Boats will not be permitted to lay anchor, but ferries will be allowed to pass through.

The policy provides reassurance that: “Carefully managed recreational activities may still be allowed at non-damaging levels.”

The proposals will now be subject to public consultation before the location of the new designations are announced in 2026.

Launching the plans at the COP15 Biodiversity Summit in Montreal in December, Environment Minister Mairi McAllan said: “Scotland has some of the most beautiful and diverse marine ecosystems on the planet and we are committed to safeguarding them.

“Scotland’s MPA network extends to over a third of our seas, and I am today setting out how we intend to go even further by designating at least 10% of our seas as Highly Protected Marine Areas – a world-leading commitment.”

Fishing bodies have already expressed strong opposition. Elspeth Macdonald, Chief Executive of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation, said: “HPMAs are an exercise in government greenwashing. There is no justifiable scientific rationale for their introduction or any evidence whatsoever that they will achieve their very vague aims.

“The speed at which the Scottish Government intends to bring in these restrictions – first signalled out of the blue, without any consultation, in the Bute House Agreement – is totally unsuitable relative to the scale of the potential impact on fishing.

“The fishing industry has no objection to meaningful conservation and indeed has been an active and supportive partner in developing the MPA network, but it is vitally important that we understand what we are conserving and why, and how we assess the contribution of restrictions to the objectives in question.”

Kilbride Shellfish Ltd is based at Ludag, and operates as a co-operative to support around 20 local catchers using static pots for crab and prawn. Director Angus Campbell told Am Pàipear that if HPMAs were imposed on Hebridean waters, the impact would be devastating.

Angus is also Chair of the Western Isles Fisherman’s Association, and says the proposals now on the table have caused alarm across the islands: “HPMAs pose the biggest threat to local fishing in a generation. The community engagement exercise that Marine Scotland ran before introducing local MPAs in 2014 ignored the views of the community. We fully expect that the consultation now running for the HPMAs will follow a similar pattern.

“The Western Isles has the largest number of registered shellfish vessels anywhere in Scotland. The HPMA ban on all fishing would have a disproportionate impact on islanders and we hope that some protection can be given to our fishing fleet within the Islands (Scotland) Act.”

Local fish farms would also be impacted by the new restrictions. Tavish Scott, Chief Executive of Salmon Scotland, said: “Marine biodiversity is vitally important, and this can be achieved through responsible stewardship of our seas. Simply putting up barriers to companies and preventing responsible management of the sea threatens jobs in fragile coastal communities.

“If we reduce our competitiveness, businesses will simply turn their attention to our Scandinavian competitors.

“There should be a focus on evidence and balance, and the case has simply not been made for HPMAs.

“Sustainable growth of the Scottish salmon sector is crucial for coastal communities, where the local salmon farm is often at the heart of the community and the main employer, as well as for the wider economy and the Scottish Government’s vision for the country.”

Ariane Burgess, Scottish Greens MSP for the Highlands and Islands, set out the case for HPMAs, saying: “Important marine habitats have declined across all of Scotland’s waters due to pressures including bottom-contacting fishing and aquaculture, and 46% of our fish populations are overfished, according to Scotland’s Marine Assessment 2020.

“HPMAs will help turn this around and allow Scotland to play its part in achieving the global target to protect at least 30% of the world’s land and sea by 2030.”

“The views of local fishers, other coastal businesses in Uist and community groups such as Clean Coast Outer Hebrides will be crucial to ensure the designations are effective and workable. The next stages including site designation will be progressed in close cooperation with coastal communities, and I encourage everyone to respond to the consultation which is out now.”

Alasadair Allan MSP told Am Pàipear: “It is important to stress that no sites have been selected yet. As the Scottish Government’s Partial Island Communities Impact Assessment Screening Report notes, the vulnerability of island communities where employment is dominated by both fisheries and aquaculture is likely to be a key consideration.

“Fishing continues to play a vital role in economies like Uist. It is important that designations of any kind recognise the importance of the sector to our goals around island economic growth and population retention.”

The waters around the Western Isles are already subject to stringent restrictions under current Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and other conservation designations. Additional limitations are also expected to be imposed by the proposed Special Area of Conservation in the Sound of Barra, which Comahirle nan Eilean Siar has said would have a devastating impact on the local economies of both Uist and Barra.

Scottish Government has said that the new HPMAs will: “Complement and add value to the existing MPA network…HPMAs may overlap either fully or partially with existing MPAs in order to maximise the conservation benefits associated with stricter management approaches in a particular geographic location. HPMAs may also be located outside the current MPA network.”

Government published statistics state that the Scottish fishing fleet landed 437,000 tonnes of fish and shellfish in 2021, with a gross value of £560m. Almost one third of that value was derived from nephrops and other shellfish. In the Western Isles, the catching sector generates over £12m.

Marine Scotland’s Scottish Fish farm Production Survey lists a total aquaculture value of well over £1billion, with the Western Isles alone valued at over £161 million.|

The Scottish Government Seaweed Review Group reports that seaweed harvesting currently generates £4m turnover in Scotland, with a substantial opportunity for growth.

The public consultation is available on the Scottish Government website at consult.gov.scot and will close on March 20th.