Monitoring of Scotland coastal areas: EIR release

Information requested

1. How many reports of suspicious activity have been made in Scottish coastal areas over the five year period between 2018- 2023?
2. How many bottom trawers have been fined/prosecuted for trawling illegally in Scotland's 231 MPA's between 2018-2023?
3. How much is spent on an annual basis on monitoring activity along the west coast of Scotland?

Response

As the information you have requested is 'environmental information' for the purposes of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs), we are required to deal with your request under those Regulations. We are applying the exemption at section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), so that we do not also have to deal with your request under FOISA.

This exemption is subject to the 'public interest test'. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes. This is essentially a technical point and has no material effect on the outcome of your request.

1. How many reports of suspicious activity have been made in Scottish coastal areas over the five year period between 2018- 2023?
   
   While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested. Therefore we are refusing your request under the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs. The reasons why that exception applies are explained below.
   
   Under the terms of the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs (information not held), the Scottish Government is not required to provide information which it does not have. The Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested because The Data Protection Act 2018 requires that personal data should not be kept longer than is necessary for the purpose for which it was acquired. Accordingly, intelligence material is subject to regular review and weeding procedures. Intelligence material that is no longer of intelligence value is destroyed.
   
   This exception is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exception. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exception. While we recognise that there may be some public interest in information about how many reports of suspicious activity have been made in Scottish coastal areas over the five year period between 2018- 2023, clearly we cannot provide information which we do not hold.
   
   Separate to this EIR, Marine Scotland release enforcement statistics on the Scottish Government website. Please see link; Marine and fisheries compliance: reports of illegal fishing in marine protected areas - 26 May 2020 to 31 May 2022 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot).
    
2. How many bottom trawlers have been fined/prosecuted for trawling illegally in Scotland's 231 MPA's between 2018-2023?
   
   The information you have requested had been provided below.

• Total cases where Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) issued and paid in relation to MPAs bottom trawl (incl scallop dredging): 1
• Total cases where Court conviction and fine in relation to MPAs bottom trawl (incl scallop dredging): 3
• Total cases currently with Procurator Fiscal/Courts in relation to MPAs bottom trawl (incl scallop dredging): 5
  
  FPNs are civil fines which Marine Scotland are able to offer rather than pursuing a formal prosecution. Payment of a fixed penalty notice does not require an admission of guilt and does not result in a criminal record.
  
  The conditions around each MPA are unique and it should be noted that not all MPAs are subject to bottom trawling bans.
  

3. How much is spent on an annual basis on monitoring activity along the west coast of Scotland?
   
   While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested. Therefore we are refusing your request under the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs. The reason why that exception applies is explained below.
   
   Under the terms of the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs (information not held), the Scottish Government is not required to provide information which it does not have. The Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested because we do not record our data in such granular detail as we do not apportion spending in the way the question is directed.
   
   This exception is subject to the 'public interest test'. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exception. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exception. While we recognise that there may be some public interest in information about how much is spent on an annual basis on monitoring activity along the west coast of Scotland, clearly we cannot provide information which we do not hold.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.