Marine and coastal restoration plan

Aims, scope and definitions

This is the first plan of its kind in Scotland with a dedicated focus on restoration in the marine and coastal environment and reflects the pioneering nature of the work that restoration groups are doing. We will review and update the plan over a five-year cycle, to ensure we keep up with scientific and ecological developments in this growing sector and dynamic environment.

The plan is part of a broad programme of policy work to address the growing pressures on our marine environment and it is important to note that no single measure by itself will be enough to halt and reverse environmental decline. That said, accelerating active restoration in Scotland’s marine and coastal areas has the potential to enhance the resilience of our environment and support livelihoods of people in rural communities.

The actions set out in this first plan will be delivered over the lifespan of the plan and work towards three overarching aims, which are to:

• achieve a better understanding across marine users of where active restoration can best take place and how we can prioritise species and habitats
• maximise ecological benefits and social and economic opportunities from active restoration
• support community-led restoration and enable investment in restoration efforts

Our approach to developing the plan

Policy development for the plan was informed by discussions with a cross-sectoral stakeholder advisory group who brought a wide range of perspectives to the table. A series of workshops held with this advisory group in February and March 2025 allowed us to explore complex issues, test assumptions, consider diverse standpoints, and inform our current understanding of the issues, challenges and opportunities relating to marine and coastal restoration with the full breadth of interests in mind. A list of organisations that attended the advisory group workshops is provided on page 26.

This was followed by a public consultation for the draft plan between August and October 2025, supported by fourteen information events held around Scotland. These provided an opportunity to raise wider awareness of the draft plan and encourage participation via the consultation, and for discussion of issues and opportunities at a more local level.

Geographic scope

The plan covers coastal, inshore (0-12 nautical miles) and offshore (12 – 200 nautical miles), and terrestrial restoration where it directly benefits marine and coastal habitats, or species that spend at least part of their life cycle in the marine environment. In some areas objectives proposed will involve working with devolved administrations, including UKG where the devolution settlement requires.

What do we mean by active restoration?

Throughout the plan we use the following definitions: -

Active restoration is habitat (re)creation and species (re)introduction, and examples include those noted in the introduction like seagrass or saltmarsh planting, native oyster restoration, sand dune replenishment and cold water coral restoration.

Pressure management, which is sometimes referred to as passive restoration. This can include restricting human activities or otherwise managing how they are carried out, improving water quality, or measures such as management of predators, invasive, non-native species.

Active restoration and pressure management are both vital in supporting nature recovery. There are currently many policy programmes either already underway or upcoming that will deliver measures relating to pressure management, seeking to protect, recover and regenerate marine and coastal habitats and species. These include Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and priority marine feature (PMF) management measures, the Scottish Seabird Action Plan, the Marine Litter Strategy, the UK Dolphin and Porpoise Strategy, the Fisheries Management Strategy, and the UK Marine Strategy programme of measures.

This plan focuses on active restoration while recognising this is just one part of a bigger picture, and the critical relationship between active restoration and pressure management. Pressure management is included in this plan where it is needed to directly support active restoration efforts, and it may become a priority for further actions under future restoration plans in line with the five-year review cycle noted above.

Historic presence

We also considered whether active restoration should focus on areas where there is evidence a habitat or species was present at some time in the past. Evidence of historic presence of habitats and species can be a helpful consideration for identifying where suitable conditions for restoration might be present. However, historical data is not always available, complete or reliable, and environmental conditions within an area may have changed since observations were made. Focussing solely on areas with historic presence would unnecessarily limit opportunities to undertake restoration activity and generate its associated benefits. Historic presence does remain an important factor that should be considered where possible in the development of restoration projects.

Restoration baselines and targets

In line with our position on the role of historic presence, the plan does not look to a historical baseline(s) to stipulate what state we are restoring habitats or species to. Historic baselines, for example the emissions reduction target to reduce emissions against 1990 levels, can be useful in cases where data is available to support such an approach. However, this is not a feasible approach in relation to restoring marine habitats and species because of the complexity and variety of ecological factors and lack of historic data in the marine environment. The restoration plan will instead take a forward-looking approach towards improving our marine environment to contribute to achieving Good Environmental Status.

In February 2025 the Natural Environment (Scotland) Bill was introduced to the Scottish Parliament, seeking powers to set biodiversity targets. Any future targets brought forward under this legislation will need to be considered when the plan is reviewed and updated in future. For now, the Marine and Coastal Restoration Plan does not set targets for restoration nor is it prescriptive in setting out specific areas or features to be restored. Instead, actions within the plan will provide tools to improve understanding of what could be restored and where.

Plan structure

The plan is structured into five themes, each of which tackles a different aspect of what is needed to accelerate restoration in Scotland’s coast and waters (Figure 1).

For each theme we developed objectives that we are looking to achieve through this first Marine and Coastal Restoration Plan, underpinned by the actions that will be taken to deliver those objectives.

Restoration opportunities and priorities focuses on improving our understanding of where restoration could happen and what is in need of restoration most urgently.

Regulatory environment explores ways to ensure regulations, licenses and other oversight procedures support those interested in undertaking restoration and protect habitats and species undergoing restoration, while safeguarding the environment and considering impacts on other sea users.

Funding and finance looks at how we can address funding gaps, leverage private sector investment, and channel funding streams so that the benefits of restoration are felt and seen in local communities.

Supply chains and communities tackles some of the more practical aspects of restoration and how we can support and scale up community-led restoration.

Evidence and monitoring sets out how we can improve knowledge gaps about restoration in the Scottish marine environment, both in terms of understanding of where it can happen, but also how restoration supports and contributes to Good Environmental Status of our marine and coastal ecosystems, as well as the social and economic impacts.