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

5. Consultation

5.1 Consultation Overview – Fisheries Management Measures

In the consultation, we are seeking views and comments on proposed fisheries management measures for 76 MPAs and 90 proposed PMF management areas within the Scottish inshore region. We also seek views and comments on key draft documents which provide the rationale, evidence, and assess potential impacts of the proposals.

The following documents provide further detail on the protected sites, proposed PMF management areas and the measures, along with the assessments of potential environmental and socio-economic impacts of the proposed fisheries management measures, as well as any statutory assessments required. These documents should be considered when responding to this consultation.

1. Sustainability Appraisal (SA), assessment of environmental, social and economic effects –the Sustainability Appraisal provides a high-level overview of the cumulative impacts of the proposed fisheries management measures. It is comprised of the high-level findings of the Strategic Environmental Assessment Report (SEA) and Socio-Economic Impact Assessment (SEIA).

2. Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) - the SEA assesses the environmental impacts of the proposed fisheries management measures.

3. Socio-Economic Impact Assessment (SEIA) - the SEIA identifies and assesses potential economic and social effects of the proposed fisheries management measures.

4. Social Impacts Research for Marine Protected Areas and Priority Marine Features Management in Scottish Waters - in undertaking this work, the Scottish Government has sought to better understand the social values of coastal and island communities that inform their perceptions of changes in the management of the marine environment and how these impact on their lives. The current research was intended to gather this information from local communities and identify issues and concerns.

5. Partial Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA) - the partial BRIA presents an initial assessment of the potential costs, benefits and risks of introducing fisheries management measures and their potential impact on public, private and third sectors. One BRIA has been produced for eleven regions within Scottish inshore waters.

6. Draft Island Communities Impact Assessment (ICIA): the draft full ICIA seeks to complete all stages of the ICIA process, which assesses the potential impacts of proposals on island communities. Steps 5 and 6, which address mitigation and future actions, are partially complete. Consultation responses will be used to finalise the assessment once impacts are better understood based on the management option selected, and will inform the completion of mitigation measures and future actions following analysis and decision‑making.

7. A High-Level Site and Area Summary document – this document provides a high-level overview of each site and area, including conservation objectives and the proposed fisheries management measures, along with a site-specific summary of the assessed socio-economic and environmental impacts.

8. A Site and Area Proposal document, outlining the proposed measures for each MPA and proposed PMF management area with conservation management and PMF advice - this is a substantial document providing detailed information on each of the sites along with the advice submitted by NatureScot, the proposed fisheries management options to be consulted on and associated risks. It also provides information on how measures have been developed. The full CMA for each site provided by NatureScot is available on NatureScot’s website on Sitelink and are linked to throughout the site and area proposal document.

9. Draft inshore Marine Protected Areas Fisheries Assessment methodology report - The methodology report sets out the approach used to undertake the Fisheries Assessments, including the evidence base, analytical framework and assessment criteria applied to evaluate the potential effects of fishing activities on protected features, site integrity and conservation objectives. Final version will be published when the final measures are adopted by Scottish Ministers.

10. Draft Fisheries Assessments – draft Fisheries Assessments assess existing and potential impacts of commercial fishing activity in respect of the site’s conservation objectives, or site integrity. Final versions will be published when the final measures are adopted by Scottish Ministers.

5.2 Why your views matter

The Scottish Government is committed to realising our vision of the marine environment being clean, healthy, safe, productive, diverse and managed to meet the long-term needs of nature and people. Your responses will help to shape and inform how we do this.

Respondents should take into consideration the information provided within this document alongside any other knowledge or personal experiences that could be relevant. All opinions are welcome.

You are invited to answer all the questions. However, if you are unable to answer any question then please feel free to skip and move on to the next most relevant question.

The questions are asked in relation to each of the 76 sites and 90 proposed PMF management areas, and the two proposed fisheries management options. In addition, as described above, there are questions asked in relation to specific documents:

• Sustainability Appraisal (SA);
• Strategic Environmental Report (SEA);
• Socio- Economic Impact Assessment (SEIA);
• Social Impacts Research Report;
• Draft Fisheries Assessments Methodology Report and Draft Fisheries Assessments;
• Partial Business Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA); and
• Island Communities Impact Assessment (ICIA).

Questions 1-14 are general questions on the proposed measures and the supporting documents. Sites and areas where only one management proposal is presented will each have a further two questions specific for that site or area. Sites and areas where two management proposals are presented will each have three questions specific for that site or area.

Please note for this consultation we have included a map based interface to support respondents in sharing their views. This can be done on a location bases (by site and/or area), by gear type or both. This is applicable for the site-specific questions (40-621) where respondents can view and engage with a map of all sites and areas. Respondents can select sites or areas of interest to view relevant information for that site or area. In all cases a text based alternative is available. There is a navigation question after each site or area so there will be jumps in number order in the list of questions detailed in section 6.1. The question numbers match the question number in the consultation platform.