Offshore Marine Protected Areas in Scottish Waters: Strategic Environmental Assessment Post Adoption Statement

6 Reasons for Introducing the Fisheries Management Measures as Adopted

6.1.1 The 2004 Regulations requires that the Scottish Government identify, describe and evaluate the likely significant effects on the environment of any reasonable alternatives to the plan or programme, taking into account its objectives and geographical scope.

6.1.2 The reasonable alternatives that were identified and assessed in the SEA were represented by an ‘alternative option’ whereby the protection afforded by the proposed management measures was extended across the entire MPA where this was not already the preferred management option (i.e., the fishing gears targeted by the proposed management measures are excluded from the entire area of the MPA)^[33]. This applied to 15 of the offshore MPAs whereby zonal (Option 1) management measures were proposed. At the remaining sites, only full site (Option 2) management measures were proposed.

6.1.3 As detailed in Section 5, the management measures that Scottish Government has decided to take forward following consultation are for 13 of the MPAs to proceed with zonal (Option 1) management measures and five of the MPAs to proceed with the full site (Option 2) management measures (Table 1). The zonal (Option 1) measures have been revised at the two remaining MPAs to increase the spatial extent of demersal mobile gear restrictions following advice from the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC).

6.1.4 At four sites (Central Fladen NCMPA, Firth of Forth Banks Complex NCMPA, Barra Fan and Hebrides Terrace Seamount NCMPA and East Rockall Bank SAC), the proposed management measures that have been selected will provide greater overall potential environmental benefits compared to the alternative options that were considered for those sites. At three sites (East of Gannet and Montrose Field NCMPA, West Shetland Shelf NCMPA and Wyville-Thomson Ridge SAC), the management measures that have been selected will provide reduced potential environmental benefits compared to the alternative options that were considered for those sites. The measures being taken forward for these three sites were still considered to provide overall minor to moderate environmental benefits, and were considered preferable to the alternative option when taking account of other considerations, including socio-economic effects. At the remaining 13 sites, the overall impact of the management measures that have been selected will be the same as the alternative option that was considered for those sites.

6.1.5 The implementation of the extended zonal (Option 1) measures at Central Fladen NCMPA, are expected to result in immediate overall moderate beneficial effects on the environment when considering the balance between beneficial and adverse effects. The intensity of fishing activity with the demersal gear types targeted by the management measures is high. The prohibition of demersal mobile gear from 55% of the site will remove the pressures associated with these gears and protect and support the recovery of vulnerable habitat and associated species, as well as also provide potential minor spillover benefits. There is also the potential for future benefits as the measures restrict new fishers utilising the area with the targeted gear types. The negative impacts on the environment due to displacement are assessed as moderate as the amount of effort displaced cannot be accommodated at nearby fishing grounds, involving fishing vessels travelling further to access existing grounds or new grounds being fished which will result in impacts on undisturbed areas. The grounds to which the activity is displaced to may also be less productive and thus require more effort per unit landed. Despite this, the overall benefit of protection brought about by the measures is likely to be significantly greater than the negative impacts associated with displacement.

6.1.6 The implementation of the extended zonal (Option 1) measures at East of Gannet and Montrose Fields NCMPA are expected to result in immediate overall moderate beneficial effects on the environment when considering the balance between beneficial and adverse effects. The intensity of fishing activity with dredges, beam trawls and demersal mobile gears (other than demersal seines) targeted by the management measures is high. The prohibition of dredges and beam trawling throughout the site, as well as prohibiting demersal trawling from 85% of the site will remove the pressures associated with these gears and protect and support the recovery of vulnerable habitat and associated species, as well as also allow for potential minor spill-over benefits. There is also the potential for future benefits as the measures restrict new fishers utilising the area with the targeted gear types. The negative impacts on the environment due to displacement and the potential increased fishing effort from other gear types that are not targeted is assessed as minor as the amount of effort displaced can be accommodated by other areas within the MPA, as well as nearby fishing grounds, some of which may be within the site, and which are already fished, thus having a community composition that is already characterised by fishing pressures. The grounds to which the activity is displaced to may also be less productive and thus require more effort per unit landed. Despite this, the overall benefit of protection is likely to be marginally greater than the negative impacts associated with displacement and change in gear types.