Marine Licensing (Miscellaneous Amendment) (Scotland) Order 2026: island communities impact assessment

Data gathering and key findings

This is new legislation applying to activities in ABNJ that are not currently licensed or monitored and for which there is no evidence that Scottish actors (including those with island connections) are already undertaking. The legislation is required to assist the UK Government to ratify the BBNJ agreement and ensure Scottish Ministers devolved responsibility is maintained.

A joint UK and Scottish Government public consultation Implementation of Part IV of the BBNJ Agreement - Defra - Citizen Space ran from the 21 November to 19 December 2025. This covered the scope of the licensing requirements and covered the devolved activities of Scottish actors. The consultation did not generate any responses that identified an implication for the islands, specifically that Scottish actors associated in particular with the islands would be subject to the new licensing requirements or if so in any manner different to actors on the mainland.

Key stakeholders considered are the industries whose activities could be caught by the legislation (dredging, construction works, removal of any substance or object, use of explosives), environmental NGOs, and relevant regulators.

As above the legislation is new and has not been applied to activity in ABNJ so there isn’t existing data related to the islands.