Proposed Fisheries Management Measures for Inshore Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and Proposed Priority Marine Feature (PMF) Management Areas – Consultation Paper

3. Fisheries Management Measures in MPAs and proposed PMF management areas of the Scottish inshore region

3.1 MPA and PMF Fisheries Management Measures

The Scottish MPA network is underpinned by a variety of different legislation depending on whether the site is located in the inshore or offshore region, and the types of features they protect. Sites designated for nature conservation purposes should be managed as appropriate in a way that conserves the habitats and species for which the sites have been designated.

The Scottish Government has a long-term commitment to support the sustainable management of the marine environment. Fulfilling this involves a range of different management approaches to ensure that society can continue to derive the many natural benefits that our seas provide. As part of this, Scottish Ministers have committed to implementing fisheries management measures where it is considered appropriate to do so, and where these are not already in place, for existing MPAs and key biodiversity locations outwith the MPA network. These measures, if implemented, will give protection for MPA features and the proposed PMF management areas outwith MPAs.

Under section 15 of the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010, public authorities have certain duties in relation to marine plans and how they are to be taken into account in decision making.

Further duties in respect of MPAs are provided for by sections 82 and 83 of the same Act in relation to exercising functions to support the furtherance of conservation objectives and in relation to activities which pose a significant risk of hindering the achievement of those objectives.

Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas, which are designated under the Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) Regulations 1994 or the Conservation of Offshore Marine Habitats and Species Regulations 2017, also benefit from certain duties placed upon Scottish Ministers by those Regulations.

Implementing and enforcing appropriate management measures in MPAs will support Ministers in the fulfilment of those various duties and will contribute to embedding conservation objectives in decision making, preventing or mitigating harmful activities and providing relevant features with the appropriate level of protection.

Together, these legal frameworks establish a robust duty for Scottish authorities to implement and enforce appropriate management measures for MPAs. They ensure that conservation objectives are embedded in decision-making, that harmful activities are prevented or mitigated, and that European marine sites receive the appropriate level of protection under both domestic and international law.

The development of options for the proposed PMF management areas has been guided by policies of the Scottish Government’s National Marine Plan, including General Policy 9b, which states that use of the marine environment must not result in significant impact on the national status of PMFs.

In this consultation, options for site and area specific spatial restrictions are proposed, which aim to manage existing and potential pressures arising from fishing activities. The aim of any restrictions ultimately imposed would be to manage sites in a way that supports the achievement of conservation objectives and the sustainable use of our marine environment. For the proposed PMF management areas, options presented which, if implemented, would support the policy intent of the NMP, including General Policy 9b, which states that “development and use of the marine environment must not result in significant impact on the national status of Priority Marine Features”.

The Shetland Shellfish Management Organisation (SSMO) has the right to manage shellfish fisheries under the Shetland Islands Regulated Fishery (Scotland) Order 2012. That Order was made under the Sea Fisheries (Shellfish) Act 1967, which allows for the local management of fisheries through the granting of such regulating orders. The Marine Directorate will continue to work closely with the SSMO on development of policy that continues to support strong, sustainable management of these fisheries in the future.

The Order gives the SSMO the ability to impose restrictions on the dredging, fishing for and removal of the prescribed species within the whole or any specified part of the fishery within Shetland’s six mile coastal limit with the consent of Scottish Ministers. On the outcome of the consultation the Scottish Ministers will work with the SSMO to put in place appropriate measures for the shellfish fishery. Although the Order gives the SSMO the power to license fishing within that same limit it is not the sole authority licensing fishing in Shetland and a licence from the SSMO is required for that area in addition to one granted by the Scottish Ministers under the Fisheries Act 2020.

By implementing fisheries management measures in our MPAs and proposed PMF management areas we also contribute to and support a number of additional national and international commitments and obligations such as:

• work towards the outcomes of the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy
• contribute to the achievement of Good Environmental Status under the UK Marine Strategy, assimilated into Scots law through the UK’s Marine Strategy Regulations 2010;
• contribute to the National Performance Framework by supporting marine elements of the biodiversity, and protected site indicators for the Environmental National Outcomes. These measures will also support the economic objective for natural capital;
• Joint Fisheries Statement and Fisheries Act 2020;
• help deliver the UK Contribution to Ecologically Coherent MPA Network in the North East Atlantic;
• work towards the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, and Convention on Biological Diversity targets of 2030 for 30% of marine and coastal areas are “effectively conserved and managed, while ensuring that any sustainable use, where appropriate in such areas, is fully consistent with conservation outcomes and;
• support the UN Sustainable Development Goals (Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources).

This consultation is on proposed fisheries management measures options which have been developed for 76 MPAs, and 90 proposed PMF management areas within the Scottish inshore region. 3 of these MPAs overlap into the offshore region (Figure 2).

Following the conclusion of the inshore public consultation process, Scottish Ministers will decide upon the appropriate fisheries management measures to take forward. Legislative mechanisms to implement fisheries management measures may include orders under the Inshore Fishing (Scotland) Act 1984, and the Sea Fish (Conservation) Act 1967. Once in place this will mean that infringement of the fisheries management measures will be a criminal offence.

It is intended that a scientific exception provision will be included in the orders to allow relevant and appropriate scientific survey work to be carried out within the sites as required.

3.2 Overview of sites and definitions

There are a total of 167 sites and areas within Scotland’s inshore marine region that were considered for fisheries management measures. 166 have been identified as requiring fisheries management measures for nature conservation purposes. These sites and areas consist of 76 designated sites (including 21 SACs, 44 SPAs and 11 NCMPAs) and 90 proposed PMF management areas. They are listed below in Figure 2. The proposed fisheries management measures, including maps, are also available in the High Level Site and Area Summary and the Site and Area Proposal documents in the supporting documents of the consultation as well as on the consultation platform.

Three of 76 sites cross the 12 nautical mile territorial limit: Seas off Foula SPA, Seas off St Kilda SPA, and Outer Firth of Forth and St Andrews Bay Complex SPA. For these sites, NatureScot led on the development of the proposed management measures with the input and advice of JNCC (who are the SNCB for the offshore region).

In 2021-2022, The Bute House Agreement was reached. This expanded the scope of MPAs to be included in the development of fisheries management measures. NCMPAs for mobile species and habitats, SPAs for seabirds and an SAC for harbour porpoise were scoped into what was known previously as Phase 2.

One inshore site is not considered to require further fisheries management measures. The Solway Firth SAC is not being considered as part of this consultation, but will become part of an adaptive management approach with monitoring of the site in the future. This site was protected by a fishing licence condition prohibiting dredging which provided protection for reef habitats. This has since lapsed, however there are still current fisheries management measures in place for some demersal mobile gears. No management measures are being proposed, as the best available evidence does not support high confidence in locations of reef habitat. A survey could not provide locations with a sufficient level of confidence, and locations were not able to be confirmed through stakeholder engagement with the Scottish and English fleets fishing in the Scottish portion of the SAC. The site has a highly dynamic, sediment-dominated estuarine environment making it difficult to determine where and when reef is exposed. Fishing activity in this site is low, and the majority of this does not occur on habitat where scar reefs are most likely to be found.

Figure 3. List of Scottish Marine Regions (SMRs) and any MPAs and proposed PMF Management Areas within the region where fisheries management measures have been developed for consultation.

Argyll

• Coll and Tiree SPA
• Eileanan agus Sgeiran Lios mór SAC
• Loch a' Chnuic and Ardilistry (Islay) proposed PMF management area
• Loch a' Chumhainn (Mull) proposed PMF management area
• Loch Craignish (Argyll) proposed PMF management area
• Loch Indaal (Islay) proposed PMF management area
• Loch Tarbert (Jura) proposed PMF management area
• Moine Mhor SAC
• North Colonsay and Western Cliffs SPA
• Gigha, North-East proposed PMF management area
• Port Appin to Lismore (Loch Linnhe) proposed PMF management area
• Port Ellen (Islay) proposed PMF management area
• Sea of the Hebrides NCMPA
• Sound of Gigha SPA
• Sound of Iona (Mull) proposed PMF management area
• Sound of Islay (Islay) proposed PMF management area
• Gigha, South proposed PMF management area
• Ulva and Loch na Keal (Mull) proposed PMF management area
• South-East Islay Skerries SAC
• West Loch Tarbert (Kintyre) proposed PMF management area

Clyde

• Ailsa Craig SPA
• Ardlamont Point (Cowal) proposed PMF management area
• Clyde Sea Sill NCMPA
• Gourock (Inverclyde) proposed PMF management area
• Inchmarnock (Bute) proposed PMF management area
• Kyles of Bute proposed PMF management area
• Loch Long, Upper (Argyll) proposed PMF management area
• Merkland (Arran) proposed PMF management area
• Sannox (Arran) proposed PMF management area
• Scalpsay Bay, Gallachan Bay, and Stravannan Bay (Bute) proposed PMF management area
• Skipness Point (Kintyre) proposed PMF management area

Forth and Tay

• Berwickshire and North Northumberland Coast SAC
• Firth of Tay and Eden Estuary SAC
• Forth Islands SPA
• Isle of May SAC
• Outer Firth of Forth and St Andrews Bay Complex SPA
• St Abb`s Head to Fast Castle SPA

Moray Firth

• Dornoch Firth and Morrich More SAC
• East Caithness Cliffs NCMPA
• East Caithness Cliffs SPA
• Moray Firth SAC
• Moray Firth SPA
• Southern Trench NCMPA
• Troup, Pennan and Lion`s Heads SPA

North Coast

• Cape Wrath SPA
• Loch Eribol (Durness) proposed PMF management area
• North Caithness Cliffs SPA

North East

• Buchan Ness to Collieston Coast SPA
• Fowlsheugh SPA
• Ythan Estuary, Sands of Forvie, and Meikle Loch SPA

Orkney Islands

• Bay of Swartmill (Orkney) proposed PMF management area
• Bay of Tuquoy, Westray (Orkney) proposed PMF management area
• Calf of Eday SPA
• Copinsay SPA
• Copinsay (Orkney) proposed PMF management area
• Hoy Sound (East) to South Walls (Orkney) proposed PMF management area
• Hoy Sound (Orkney) proposed PMF management area
• Hoy SPA
• Marwick Head SPA
• North Orkney SPA
• Eday, Sanday, and Stronsay (Orkney) proposed PMF management area
• Orkney Sounds and Firths (South) proposed PMF management area
• Papa Westray, South (Orkney) proposed PMF management area
• Papa Westray NCMPA
• Rousay SPA
• Faray and Holm of Faray SAC
• Scapa Flow SPA
• Sule Skerry and Sule Stack SPA
• West Westray SPA
• Widewall Bay (Orkney) proposed PMF management area

Outer Hebrides

• Aird an t-Sruith, Sound of Harris proposed PMF management area
• Berneray (East) Sound of Harris proposed PMF management area
• Boreray and Berneray (North Uist) proposed PMF management area
• Easaigh and Ceilegraigh (Sound of Harris) proposed PMF management area
• East Loch Tarbert and Scalpay (Harris) proposed PMF management area
• East of Mingulay proposed PMF management area
• Flannan Isles SPA
• Loch Aineort (South Uist) proposed PMF management area
• Loch Baghasdail (South Uist) proposed PMF management area
• Loch nam Madadh SAC
• Loch Seaforth (Lewis) proposed PMF management area
• Lochs Tamnabhaigh, Tealasbaigh, Reasort, and Crabhadail (Harris) proposed PMF management area
• Mingulay and Berneray SPA
• Monach Islands NCMPA
• Monach Isles SAC
• North-East Lewis NCMPA
• North Rona SAC
• North Rona and Sula Sgeir SPA
• Pabaigh, South (Sound of Harris) proposed PMF management area
• Pabaigh, South-East (Sound of Harris) proposed PMF management area
• Rangas, Bhotarsaigh and Sursaigh (North Uist) proposed PMF management area
• Seas off St Kilda SPA
• Sgeir an Fheidh (South Uist) proposed PMF management area
• Shiant East Bank NCMPA
• Shiant Isles SPA
• Sound of Barra SAC
• Sound of Taransay and West Loch Tarbert (Harris) proposed PMF management area
• South-East Barra and Vatersay proposed PMF management area
• St Kilda SPA
• Stulaigh (South Uist) proposed PMF management area
• West Coast of the Outer Hebrides SPA

Shetland Isles

• Back of Ollaberry, Yell Sound (Shetland) proposed PMF management area
• Bluemull and Colgrave Sounds SPA
• Busta Voe (Shetland) proposed PMF management area
• East Mainland Coast, Shetland SPA
• Fair Isle SPA
• Fetlar SPA
• Fetlar to Haroldswick NCMPA
• Foula SPA
• Hermaness, Saxa Vord, and Valla Field SPA
• Linga Sound (Shetland) proposed PMF management area
• Lunna Ness, North (Shetland) proposed PMF management area
• Lunning Sound (Shetland) proposed PMF management area
• Mousa SAC
• Mousa to Boddam NCMPA
• Noss SPA
• Papa Stour SAC
• Papa, North (Shetland) proposed PMF management area
• Quey Firth (Shetland) proposed PMF management area
• Seas off Foula SPA
• Sullom Voe SAC
• Sumburgh Head SPA
• Wadbister Voe (Shetland) proposed PMF management area
• West Mainland Voes (Shetland) proposed PMF management area
• West Voe, East Burra (Shetland) proposed PMF management area
• Whalsay, South-West (Shetland) proposed PMF management area
• Yell Sound Coast SAC

Solway

• Solway Firth SPA

West Highlands

• Ascrib Islands (Skye) proposed PMF management area
• Ascrib, Isay and Dunvegan SAC
• Canna and Sanday SPA
• East of BUTEC (Inner Sound) proposed PMF management area
• Eddrachillis Bay (Assynt) proposed PMF management area
• Eigg, South-East proposed PMF management area
• Handa SPA
• Handa (Durness) proposed PMF management area
• Inner Hebrides and the Minches SAC
• Inverie, Loch Nevis (Knoydart) proposed PMF management area
• Little Minch proposed PMF management area
• Loch Ainort and Caolas Scalpay (Skye) proposed PMF management area
• Loch Bay (Skye) proposed PMF management area
• Loch Bracadale (Skye) proposed PMF management area
• Loch Eil (Lochaber) proposed PMF management area
• Loch Hourn (Knoydart) proposed PMF management area
• Loch Leven, Ballachullish (Lochaber) proposed PMF management area
• Loch nan Ceall (Arisaig) proposed PMF management area
• Loch nan Uamh (Arisaig) proposed PMF management area
• Loch Scavaig (Skye) proposed PMF management area
• Loch Sligachan (Skye) proposed PMF management area
• Lochs Eishort and Slapin (Skye) proposed PMF management area
• Muck and Godag proposed PMF management area
• North Crowlin Islands and Eilean na Ba (Inner Sound) proposed PMF management area
• Oberon Bank proposed PMF management area
• Pabay, North (Inner Sound) proposed PMF management area
• Pabay, South-West (Inner Sound) proposed PMF management area
• Port Erradale (Gairloch) proposed PMF management area
• Red Point (Torridon) proposed PMF management area
• Rubha Chuaig (Inner Sound) proposed PMF management area
• Rum SPA
• Sandaig Bay, Loch Nevis (Knoydart) proposed PMF management area
• Scalpay, North (Inner Sound) proposed PMF management area
• Sgeir na Sean Chroit (Upper Loch Linnhe) proposed PMF management area
• Small Isles NCMPA
• Sound of Arisaig (Loch Ailort to Loch Ceann Traigh) SAC (including marine component of Loch Moidart and Loch Shiel Woods SAC)
• South of Muck and Bo Fascadale proposed PMF management area

Throughout this consultation the proposed fisheries management measures options, conservation management advice (CMA), supplementary advice and other documents refer to categories of fishing gear. These categories have been defined based on how the gear interacts with the seabed and water column, and are outlined below.

3.3 Gear Categorisation for the purpose of the consultation

Demersal mobile gear is defined as: trawled or towed gear that makes contact with, or has potential to make any form of contact with the seabed.

The gear types classified under this definition are: trawl, demersal towed gear, bottom trawl, bottom pair trawl, beam trawl, Scottish or Danish seine, pair seine, boat dredge, mechanised dredge, hydraulic dredge.

Demersal static gear is defined as: gear that makes contact with, or has potential to make any form of contact with the seabed, including gear anchors and weights.

The gear types classified under this definition are: pots, traps and creels, floating demersal longlines and set/static nets (including trammel, gill, entangling nets, and fyke nets).

Pelagic gear is defined as: Gear that is set in the water column that does not have any form of contact with the seabed.

The gear types classified under this definition are: Pelagic seines including encircling gears such as ring-nets, purse seines.

3.4 Conservation Objectives of MPAs and Policy Protection of Proposed PMF Management Areas

Each site has specific conservation objectives for the features the site is designated to protect.

For NCMPAs the conservation objectives are to either ‘recover’ or ‘conserve’ to the desired state (or quality). For SACs and SPAs these conservation objectives are either to ‘restore’ or ‘maintain’ a feature to the desired state (or quality).

If the feature is currently considered to be in unfavourable condition within the site, the objective is to ’recover’ or ‘restore’. If the feature is shown to be in favourable condition, the objective is to ‘conserve’ or ‘maintain’.

For the proposed PMF management areas the aim is to afford PMFs protection in a way which supports the policy aims of the NMP, including General Policy 9b which states that “development and use of the marine environment must not result in significant impact on the national status of Priority Marine Features”.

3.5 Fisheries Management Advice

NatureScot, the Statutory Nature Conservation Body (SNCB) have produced conservation and management advice (CMA) for each site. This advice outlines the risks to protected features and the risk to achieving site conservation objectives. The advice is presented in the CMA documents, which are produced for each site. These CMA documents have been produced from extensive literature reviews to establish how different fishing gear may affect protected features.

The CMA documents provide site specific conservation management advice on the sensitivity of features and the conservation objectives. This advice is given as one of three levels of fisheries management: no additional management, reducing or limiting pressures, and removing or avoiding pressures. “Pressures” in this context refers to the specified fishing activities. The full management advice and evidence used to develop that advice can be found for each site on NatureScot’s website: Sitelink. For the SPAs advice has also been provided on maximum dive depth and seasonality for protected features of each site and can be found in the Fishing Activity Further Advice and Evidence documents which can be found under each site on Sitelink. Supplementary advice can also be found on NatureScot’s website.

NatureScot has also produced guidance documents for the 11 PMFs most vulnerable to bottom contacting mobile fishing gear:

1. Blue mussel beds
2. Cold-water coral reefs
3. Fan mussel aggregations
4. Flame shell beds
5. Horse mussel beds
6. Maerl beds
7. Maerl or coarse shell gravel with burrowing sea cucumbers
8. Native oysters
9. Northern sea fan and sponge communities
10. Seagrass beds
11. Serpulid aggregations

The guidance documents provide feature specific guidance for each PMF on its sensitivity and connectivity to the different pressures. The guidance documents for PMFs can be found at by accessing the links above.

PMF management areas were initially proposed by considering the distribution of the 11 PMFs in accordance with the recommendations in NatureScot’s PMF advice.

These locations were then refined using the boundary setting principles, developed jointly by Marine Directorate and NatureScot, and considered:

• locations that support multiple records;
• locations with recent and/or reliable data;
• locations that reflect the full range of environmental conditions the PMF can be found in; and
• boundaries that are defined by the physical requirements of the feature (e.g. maximum depth limits for maerl)

Any further refinements were made, where possible, using fishing data supplied by stakeholders and in conjunction with NatureScot, using these principles to support the policy aims for these features, as outlined in Scottland’s National Marine Plan (NMP).

NatureScot also has a PMF information hub and supplementary advice where additional information can be found.

You can find more information in the Site and Area Proposal Document about how advice is developed and how the levels of risk to conservation objectives and protected features are established. This also includes advice on how policy protection for the proposed PMF management areas is established.