Consultation on Fisheries Management Measures within Scottish Offshore Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) - Online Engagement Event Two minutes: September 2024

Minutes from the second online engagement event, held on 2 September 2024, in support of the consultation on fisheries management measures within Scottish Offshore Marine Protected Areas (MPAs).


Attendees and apologies

  • officials from Scottish Government Marine Directorate
  • officials from Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC)
  • 14 external attendees, representing members of the public and organisations (these events were wholly open to the public to allow them to ask questions on the on-going consultation and the names of individuals have not been provided)
     

Items and actions

Introduction and presentation

A short presentation was given to attendees for background and wider context for the public consultation on fisheries management within offshore Marine Protected Areas (MPAs).

 

Open floor questions and statements

Special Protection Areas (SPAs) and management measures

SPAs have been identified as requiring fisheries management measures. The three SPAs located within the offshore region are being taken forward within the inshore fisheries management measures process. 
Impact assessments and cumulative effects have been considered, given the fishing industry's concerns of spatial squeeze. They can be found in the consultation documents and highlighted at relevant consultation questions. 

Compliance of implemented fisheries management measures

Marine Directorate are working with colleagues within Marine Directorate Compliance for planning of effective enforcement of the final management measures. Enforcement may largely be focused on existing technologies including vessel monitoring systems (VMS).  Final management measures will be implemented across licensed vessels including UK and non-UK vessels. 

Notification to the EU and other states and stakeholders

Ministers have written to the EU commission to notify them of this consultation.  The consultation was open to anyone to reply and colleagues within Marine Directorate were in contact with other administrations to notify them.  Notification of the consultation launch was updated in the EU specialised fisheries committee planner ensuring they were aware for over a year.

Monitoring

JNCC provided an overview of the monitoring programme conducted by JNCC and set out their conditions for monitoring.  Comments and providing input on the monitoring of fisheries management measures within offshore MPAs are welcomed by JNCC.  The Scottish MPA monitoring strategy develops an approach to MPA-related survey and monitoring. 

Development of management measures

The fisheries management measures being consulted on are the result of engagement from 2012 under the Common Fisheries Policy process which were agreed upon by stakeholders. There are a few sites with minor changes following updated data and evidence. No management measures are proposed for pelagic fishing gear. 

Inshore fisheries management measures and displacement

Inshore fisheries management measures are being taken forward as a separate process and will be consulted upon at the completion of the impact assessments. There are over 160 sites within the inshore so progress and timelines are later in comparison to the offshore process, due to complexity from the number of sites. Displacement will be taken into account through the impact assessments for inshore sites. 

Engagement sessions

Notification of these engagement sessions have been sent out via various communication platforms, including the stakeholder bulletin email list, a pinned post on X, and stakeholder groups (for example, RIFGs and IFCA) have received notifications. Details have been provided again in the presentation and within the Team Chat. Attendees are encouraged to share details and attend another online or in-person session. Other online sessions will have the same format.

Boundary coordinates and plotter data

Some fishers would find it helpful to have data in a certain format in order to put it into plotters which require boundaries coordinates. Although shape files are available for download they are not compatible with plotters. Make connections with Seafish who could potentially help transform the shapefiles into a format compatible with plotters. 

 

Actions

Coordinate with attendee on contact for Seafish plotter data.

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