Draft Inshore Marine Protected Areas Fisheries Assessment Methodology Report

Proposed fisheries management measures

The Scottish Government has developed the proposed fisheries management measure options to address both existing and potential pressures from fishing activity.

The options have been developed based on the best available scientific evidence regarding the risk posed to protected features by different fishing gears. It is proposed that certain gears are restricted within sites to protect designated features. Where possible, zoned and temporal measures are used, or measures that apply only to vessels above a specified engine power.

The options also support the Environmental Outcomes of the National Performance Framework by restricting fishing activities to levels that support the achievement of site conservation objectives. Both options support the Scottish Government’s Sustainable Development Goals within the National Performance Framework by allowing fishing activities that have been identified as not requiring management to continue within the site.

Options for fisheries management measures have been developed for 76 individual sites.

For 53 sites, two fisheries management options, representing different levels of management, are considered within the draft Fisheries Assessments.

For these sites:

• Option 1: Certain gears are restricted within the site. Where possible, zoned and temporal measures are used, or measures that apply only to vessels above a certain engine power; and
• Option 2: The gear types restricted under Option 1 are restricted across the whole site year-round, and for all engine powers.

For the remaining 23 sites, only a single management option involving full-site restrictions is proposed. This is the case where only one option was identified as being capable of achieving the desired level of protection for the feature in question.

In addition, there are sites which overlap with one another, meaning that management options under consideration for those sites will interact. For these sites, a combined management approach is proposed where sites have specific measures relating to the same gear types, for example set netting. Where this applies to a particular site, details are provided within the relevant draft Fisheries Assessment, together with consideration of the interacting fisheries management measures.

One inshore site is not considered to require further fisheries management measures. The Solway Firth SAC is not being considered as part of this consultation but will instead form part of an adaptive management approach, supported by future monitoring of the site. The site was previously protected by a fishing licence condition prohibiting dredging, which provided protection for reef habitats. Although this condition has since lapsed, fisheries management measures remain in place for certain demersal mobile gears. No additional management measures are proposed because the best available evidence does not provide a high level of confidence regarding the location of reef habitats. Survey work was unable to identify reef locations with sufficient confidence, and locations could not be confirmed through engagement with Scottish and English fishing fleets operating within the Scottish portion of the SAC. The site comprises a highly dynamic, sediment-dominated estuarine environment, making it difficult to determine where and when reef features are exposed. Fishing activity within the site is low, and the majority of this activity does not occur in habitats where scar reefs are most likely to be present.

Further details can be found on the consultation page and in individual sites’ draft Fisheries Assessments