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

6. Site and Area Specific Information

The section below provides a high level summary for each site and area. This includes the protected features for the site or area, the condition of those features and the conservation objectives where applicable (these apply for MPAs, SACs, and SPAs).

The gear types identified as requiring management for each site are identified from advice and evidence provided by NatureScot. This is evidence and advice is available for each site in the Conservation and Management Advice for each MPA and are based on the best available science and evidence and can be found on Sitelink by searching for each individual site. For the SPAs advice has also been provided on maximum dive depth and seasonality for protected features of each site and can be found in the Fishing Activity Further Advice and Evidence document for each individual site on Sitelink by searching for each SPA individually. An Overview of NatureScot advice can be found on their website.

For PMFs a summary of NatureScot advice for the PMF management areas since 2018 has been published and takes into account new biodiversity evidence data obtained since 2018 until March 2024, when statutory assessments were begun by Marine Directorate. NatureScot advice has informed the development of proposed PMF management areas for the consultation to ensure that they are underpinned by appropriate evidence. This includes 11 PMF guidance documents, one for each of the 11 PMFs most sensitive to demersal mobile fishing gears. The guidance documents provide feature specific guidance for each PMF on its sensitivity. The advice only relates to demersal mobile fishing gear. NatureScot also has a PMF information hub and supplementary advice where additional information can be found here: Overview of NatureScot advice can be found on their website.

Draft PMF management areas were considered using the key locations identified in NatureScot’s PMF advice. These locations were then refined using a set of principles and, assumptions developed jointly by Marine Directorate and NatureScot

A summary and a map of the proposed management measures is provided (Option One and Option Two, or a single proposed management option where relevant) for each site and area by SMR. Please see the introduction section for a definition of the options.

Tables summarising the estimated socio-economic and environmental impacts arising for the measures proposed are also provided for each site and area by SMR.