On September 28, The Conversation published an article: “Don’t fall for the deep-sea scaremongers – wild fishing is healthy and sustainable” by Magnus Johnson, a senior lecturer in Environmental Marine Biology at the University of Hull. The article criticised a paper by marine biologists at the University of Glasgow and Marine Science Scotland on the […]
Finding strange and unusual looking elasmobranchs in the deep sea is not uncommon but following a recent deep sea survey scientists from Marine Scotland noticed a species that they had not seen before. Following some careful research it was established that the fish (pictured to the right) was in fact a false catshark sometimes known […]
As much as 47% of the edible U.S. seafood supply is wasted each year, with more than half of that waste coming at the consumer level as people throw away spoiled or uneaten seafood at home, according to a new study. Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future estimated the edible U.S. […]
A group of fishermen caught illegally electrocuting razor clams earlier this month during a night-time raid are now facing prosecution or fines of up to £10,000. As enforcement officers from Marine Scotland approached a boat in the Sound of Jura in the early hours of September 10, fishing gear was unceremoniously dumped overboard. It has […]
A BBC podcast in the ‘Costing the Earth’ series discusses noise in the underwater environment and how it affects marine species. Oban harbour and the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) feature in the programme. It can be downloaded for later listening.
To help Outreach participants and anglers identify some of the more common species there is a downloadable information sheet here.
HELP CLOSE A LOOPHOLE THAT’S DRIVING SHARKS TO EXTINCTION Right now it’s LEGAL for anyone travelling to Europe to bring 20kg of dried shark fins as part of their personal import allowance. It’s enough to make 705 bowls of shark fin soup. For the survival of sharks the law must change. Bite-Back, the UK shark […]
Governments and commercial fisheries sectors around the world are all too often focussed on short term financial gain rather than the impact on marine fish stocks and the marine food web – this can be exemplified by fisheries mismanagement on the West coasts of the USA and Scotland. Scientists in the USA are concerned that […]
Get your own copy of the 2015 Special Events poster.
These Events are open to all – come along and join in.
Commercial fishermen want new MPAs held off for 10 years
Western Isles fishermen yesterday joined calls to the Scottish Government for a 10 year moratorium on any new Marine Protection Areas (MPA) being granted around the islands. Duncan Macinnes of Western Isles Fisheries Association (WIFA) told Rural Affairs minister Richard Lochhead that any more MPAs risked driving younger fishermen and their families away from the […]
Scotland’s National Marine Plan is the first National Marine Plan that has been published in the United Kingdom. As a result, the process by which it was created was a new one. Marine Scotland are now looking at how the Plan was created to find out what went well and what went less well. The […]
The Environment Minister, Aileen McLeod, has announced the publication of a paper which sets out the Government’s response to the independent Wild Fisheries Review and seeks views on a number of broad policy options for a new management system. According to Marine Scotland the paper: Confirms our commitment to reforming management structures and working with […]
Government response to MPA consultation
The Scottish Government has published its response to the consultation. A press release can be found here, the report here (a temporary publication with a full HTML version to follow) Four Draft Marine Conservation Orders have been published: The orders cover four MPAs; Loch Sunart to Sound of Jura MPA (including Firth of Lorn SAC […]
Scottish Marine Plan published
Scotland’s first ever National Marine Plan has been published by Rural Affairs Secretary Richard Lochhead. The plan sets out a single statutory planning framework for all marine activity in Scottish waters. This will include policies for the sustainable management of a wide range of marine industries, including those which are long established such as fishing […]
A recent report into the Effects of Codend Mesh Size and Twine Number on Nephrops Selectivity has come up with some amazing conclusions : The selectivity of Nephrops improves as the mesh size increases from 80 to 100 and to 120 mm. Similarly, more juvenile whiting and haddock also escape as the mesh size […]
Click on the logo to visit our video channel
A charity registered in Scotland - No SC039015