Regional marine planning
Scotland’s seas are managed through a tiered planning system introduced by the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010. The National Marine Plan (2015) sets out the overall approach and context for marine planning in Scotland. Regional marine plans provide a local approach to planning and must align with the national plan.
Scotland’s coastal waters (up to 12 nautical miles out to sea) are divided into eleven Scottish Marine Regions. Regional marine plans can be developed for these regions, giving communities more say in how their local sea’s are managed.
View the boundaries of these regions.
The current National Marine Plan provides guidance on developing Regional Marine Plans for consideration by the appointed delegate or Marine Planning Partnership. The precise approach and coverage of the regional plan is for the delegate to determine based on local priorities and taking account of existing partnerships, methodologies and alignment with other plans.
Regional planning activity
Scotland’s regional marine planning system has made progress since 2015, including developing regional marine plans with dedicated representatives in the Clyde, Orkney and Shetland marine regions.
Unlike land-based planning, marine planning is still relatively new, and we are continuing to learn from experience.
To support this process, we set up a Regional Marine Planning Forum. This brings together people from different communities to share lessons learned, develop guidance and agree on goals for regional marine planning.
Regional Marine Planning Forum
The Regional Marine Planning Forum was set up in 2024. It consists of a range of local stakeholders, including representatives from Marine Planning Partnerships, local authorities, Local Coastal Partnerships and other public bodies such as Nature Scot.
The forum helps connect the right people and expertise to work on several key areas. This includes taking forward some of the recommendations made by the Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform (ECCLR) Committee following its inquiry into how Regional Marine Plans are developed and put into practice in Scotland. We published our formal response to the final report in 2023.
Local Coastal Partnerships
Local Coastal Partnerships are groups set up to help coastal communities engage on a wide range of initiatives, covering everything from the local economy to the environment and social wellbeing.
They run marine related projects that matter to their area, such as tackling marine litter, and are partly funded by the Scottish Government.