Marine and coastal restoration plan: island communities impact assessment

2. Data and stakeholders

What data is available about the current situation in the islands?

There is currently a small number of marine and coastal restoration projects on Scottish Islands. Examples include:

• Restoring Shetlands Marlie Meadows, a seagrass restoration project led by University of Highlands and Islands (UHI) Shetland with funding from Scottish Marine Environmental Enhancement Fund (SMEEF).
• The Orkney Reoyster Project Bay of Firth, an oyster restoration project led by Northbay Innovations with funding from Scottish Government’s Nature Restoration Fund.

Through engagement undertaken to support consultation on the draft plan, we know there is a growing interest in active restoration across Scotland’s island communities, with several groups undertaking initial baseline surveys and exploring the potential of active restoration in their local area. However, there is a lack of quantitative and qualitative data relating to factors such as the economic contribution of restoration to islands or the specific social impacts. These data gaps are something the plan, through evidence and monitoring, could seek to address.

The marine economy in island communities makes up a larger proportion of the total economy than it does nationally, meaning there may be greater reliance on marine industries with less opportunity to diversify away if required. For example, the combined activities of fishing, fish processing, and aquaculture in Shetland make up for 37.2% of the total economy, compared to 2.7% of the total economy nationally.

Do you need to consult?

The draft plan was developed with input from a stakeholder advisory group, which included representation from a number of island regions and representative bodies. A series of workshops were held with this group in November 2024 and February to March 2025.

There was also a 12-week public consultation on a draft version of the plan, where members of the public and stakeholders had an opportunity to comment and respond to the proposed actions. The consultation included a question relating to island communities and whether there would be significantly different effects on or between them. As part of this consultation, events hosted community information events in 14 locations across Scotland, including Stromness, Lerwick, and Stornoway.

How does any existing data differ between islands?

As noted in section 2, there is some available data on active restoration projects and activities in the Northern Isles, but less available for other islands. One of the aims of the plan is to address these data gaps, to improve the availability of information about current and planned restoration activities. The plan also seeks to encourage best practice evidence gathering and monitoring of restoration activities, which will improve our understanding of differences between islands.

Are there any existing design features or mitigations in place?

As this is a new plan and the first of its kind in Scotland, no existing design features or mitigations are in place. However, where any significantly different impacts might arise from the implementation of the plan mitigation options will be considered and adopted.