Socio-economic Baseline Review for Offshore Renewables in Scottish Waters Volume 1: Main Text

1. Introduction

ABP Marine Environmental Research Ltd ( ABPmer) and RPA were commissioned by Marine Scotland to prepare a baseline socio-economic review to inform impact assessments of future sectoral p.a.s for offshore wind and wave and tidal energy in Scottish Territorial Waters and waters offshore of Scotland (hereafter 'Scottish Waters').

This report provides a national overview of socio-economic activities together with regional baseline reviews covering the six Scottish Offshore Renewable Energy Regions ( SORERs) (Figure 1).

The baseline reviews encompass the following marine uses and other interests:

• Aquaculture (finfish and shellfish);
• Aviation;
• Carbon Capture and Storage;
• Coast Protection and Flood Defence;
• Commercial Fisheries (including salmon and sea trout);
• Energy Generation (and associated supply chains)
• Military Interests;
• Oil and Gas (including exploration, production, interconnectors, gas storage);
• Ports and Harbours;
• Power Interconnectors;
• Recreational Boating;
• Shipping;
• Social and Community;
• Telecom Cables;
• Tourism (including heritage assets);
• Waste Disposal (dredge material); and
• Water Sports.

Details of the methodology used to scope and develop the baseline review are provided in ABPmer (2011). The baseline review is structured into the following sections:

• Section 2 - National Overview
• Section 3 - South West Region
• Section 4 - West Region
• Section 5 - North West Region
• Section 6 - North Region
• Section 7 - North East Region
• Section 8 - West Region