MPA monitoring strategy
Marine Directorate, in partnership with NatureScot and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC), has developed a Scottish Marine Protected Area (MPA) monitoring strategy. The strategy sets out our approach to monitoring and ensures the necessary evidence is collected from the Scottish MPA network.
Evidence-gathering is carried out by government, agencies, academics and is often supported by citizen science projects. This information underpins our assessment and reporting obligations, as well as enabling us to monitor the ecological benefits the network provides.
The strategy is a working document and is reviewed on a regular basis in collaboration with partner organisations. The most recent updated version was published in March 2024. Supporting the strategy are a series of annexes which provide more detail on monitoring methods, collaborative working, current monitoring and a forward look.
We most recently reported to parliament on the current status of the MPA network in December 2024. The next report is due in 2030.