Scottish Offshore Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) - fisheries management measures: Fairer Scotland Duty summary

Summary of evidence

An SEIA was conducted to identify and assess the potential economic and social effects of the proposed policy on the lives and circumstances of people, their families and their communities.

For the majority of the proposed sites the socio-economic costs of the measures are either low, or have a large range. For these sites, either minimal or possible negative effects are identified. The combined worst-case impacts from management options for a small number of sites could have locally significant adverse social impacts in specific coastal communities. There are three ports or port districts (Fraserburgh, Shetland and Ullapool) that would be affected in terms of both the loss of landings to the port, and the loss of employment opportunities on vessels for which they are the home port. Therefore, they are at increased risk of adverse negative socio-economic consequences from the combined effects of the site management measures.

The proposed management options have the potential to put between 9 and 101 FTE jobs at risk in the commercial fishing sector and its supply chain. These impacts are most likely to fall on those of working age, and on men who make up the vast majority of those employed in commercial sea fishing. There could be further employment impacts in downstream activities like fish processing, which are likely to be more evenly distributed between men and women. These impacts could generate economic and social costs for the individuals concerned and for their families (including children) at the higher levels. However, some displacement of fishing activity is likely to occur and hence the impacts on employment are likely to be lower than the maximum estimate.

The gross wages and salaries of fishermen are likely to have considerable variation across fleets and roles in the sector, and include individuals in the lowest-paid 10% of the Scottish economy’s workforce. It is likely, therefore, that the proposed management options at the sites could mainly impact on income groups falling from the lowest paid 10% to the middle 80% of workers.

Further potential social impacts in the local communities affected, such as on culture, heritage, crime, health, education, access to services, or changes to the local environment are not considered likely to occur in the majority of affected locations.

The Scottish Government's Monitoring the Socio-Economic Impacts of Marine Protected Areas report, published in 2020, assessed the evidence on socio-economic impacts of Scotland's MPA network between 2016 and 2018.

The MPAs were thought to have wider social benefits. At the centre of many of these social impacts were a number of very active community groups. These groups were found to have organised a large array of activities and events, and raised awareness and educated the public about marine conservation and the rich diversity of their local waters.

Respondents from Environmental Non-Government Organisations (eNGOs) and community groups mentioned research projects, data collection campaigns and collaborations with research institutions, all aimed at improving the evidence base for MPAs. They highlighted that these events and activities provided opportunities for people to gain skills and experiences that might normally be too expensive or hard to reach.

ENGOs described further economic benefits associated with the growth in tourism, which they linked to MPAs, and the increased opportunities for attracting funding for community group activities. Such funding can lead to the employment of staff who move to an area, spend money and contribute to the community.

Respondents observed improvements in the marine environment, which they attributed to MPAs. Many stated that this was the most important positive impact of the MPAs and described feelings of hope and inspiration at the thought of the improvements that were possible and what that could mean for their local area.