Fisheries Management Measures within Scottish Inshore Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and Proposed Priority Marine Feature (PMF) Management Areas - High level Site Summary Details and Potential Impacts of Proposed Fisheries Management Measures

18.12. Site: St Kilda SPA

Protected features:

• Fulmar - breeding
• Gannet - breeding
• Great skua - breeding
• Guillemot - breeding
• Kittiwake - breeding
• Leach’s petrel - breeding
• Manx shearwater - breeding
• Puffin - breeding
• Razorbill – breeding
• Storm petrel – breeding

Feature conditions:

• Fulmar - Unfavourable
• Gannet - Favourable
• Great skua - Unfavourable
• Guillemot - Unfavourable
• Kittiwake - Unfavourable
• Leach’s petrel - Favourable
• Manx shearwater - Unfavourable
• Puffin - Unfavourable
• Razorbill – Unfavourable
• Storm petrel – Favourable

Conservation objectives:

• Fulmar - Restore
• Gannet - Maintain
• Great skua - Restore
• Guillemot - Restore
• Kittiwake - Restore
• Leach’s petrel - Maintain
• Manx shearwater - Restore
• Puffin - Restore
• Razorbill – Restore
• Storm petrel – Maintain

NatureScot provided amalgamated season advice for this site but individual seasonality for species has been used to develop consultation options.

The proposed management measures for St Kilda SPA are as follows:

Option 1:

• Demersal set nets (including fyke nets) prohibited February till end of August and pelagic set nets prohibited February till mid-October in areas shallower than 177m, based on presence of guillemot and gannet and maximum dive depth of guillemot
• Set nets (including fyke nets) already prohibited in overlapping area with the St Kilda SAC
• Full site closure to longlines (until technical measures come into force) and hydraulic dredge (hydraulic dredge already prohibited in overlap with St Kilda SAC)

Option 2:

• Full site closure to longlines (until technical measures come into force), set nets (including fyke nets) and hydraulic dredge.

Estimated Socio-economic impacts of proposed measures for St Kilda SPA

No socio-economic impacts are anticipated for this site, based on available data in relation to:

• Average annual loss in value of landings (£000s, 2022 prices)
• Direct + indirect reduction in GVA (PV) impact (£000s) 20 years
• Average (mean) number of direct + indirect jobs (year on year, over 20 years), Full Time Equivalents

18.13. Site: West Coast of the Outer Hebrides SPA

Protected features:

• Black-throated diver – non-breeding
• Eider – non-breeding
• Great northern diver – non-breeding
• Long-tailed duck – non-breeding
• Red-breasted merganser – non-breeding
• Red-throated diver – breeding
• Slavonian grebe – non-breeding

Feature conditions:

• Black-throated diver – Favourable
• Eider – Favourable
• Great northern diver – Favourable
• Long-tailed duck – Favourable
• Red-breasted merganser – Favourable
• Red-throated diver – Favourable
• Slavonian grebe – Favourable

Conservation objectives:

• Black-throated diver – Maintain
• Eider – Maintain
• Great northern diver – Maintain
• Long-tailed duck – Maintain
• Red-breasted merganser – Maintain
• Red-throated diver – Maintain
• Slavonian grebe – Maintain

The proposed management measures for West Coast of the Outer Hebrides SPA are as follows:

Option 1:*

• Set nets (including fyke nets) prohibited all year in areas down to 60m based on presence and maximum dive depth for eider.
• Pelagic set nets prohibited in areas deeper than 60m based on presence of all protected features
• Set nets (including fyke nets) and pelagic seine (including ring-nets) prohibited in overlapping areas with the Monach Isles NCMPA/Monach Islands SAC and the Sound of Barra SAC
• Full site closure hydraulic dredge

*This site will have other demersal mobile measures that may apply from the overlapping portions with the proposed PMF management areas that aren’t shown on the map for this option. The demersal mobile measures for Sound of Barra SAC will be over the south-eastern orange overlapping portion shown above.

• The Sound of Barra SAC and proposed PMF management areas (shown in below section) would prohibit all demersal mobile gear in the overlapping areas.

Please check the Option 1 or single management overlapping area maps to see proposed demersal mobile measures under Option 1.

Option 2:*

• Full site closure to set nets (including fyke nets) and hydraulic dredge.

*The measures for Option 2 proposals only come from gear types prohibited in non-overlapping areas. Overlapping restrictions may still apply from overlapping sites or areas dependent on the decisions taken for that site or area.

Overlapping sites and areas included in this consultation

This SPA overlaps the Monach Isles NCMPA and SAC, Sound of Barra SAC, Sea of the Hebrides NCMPA, Inner Hebrides and the Minches SAC, and Pabaigh, South (Sound of Harris), Pabaigh, South-East (Sound of Harris), Aird an t-Sruith (Sound of Harris), Berneray (East) Sound of Harris, Boreray and Berneray (North Uist), Easaigh and Ceilegraigh (Sound of Harris), Rangas, Bhotarsaigh and Sursaigh (North Uist), Sound of Taransay and West Loch Tarbert (Harris) proposed PMF management areas.

Estimated Socio-economic impacts of proposed measures for West Coast of the Outer Hebrides SPA

No socio-economic impacts are anticipated for this site, based on available data in relation to:

• Average annual loss in value of landings (£000s, 2022 prices)
• Direct + indirect reduction in GVA (PV) impact (£000s) 20 years
• Average (mean) number of direct + indirect jobs (year on year, over 20 years), Full Time Equivalents