Ministerial Statement on the creation of a network of Marine Protected Areas (laid in The Scottish Parliament on 1 September 2010). The Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 (“the Act”) created new powers for Scottish Ministers to designate Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in Scottish territorial waters in order to protect marine biodiversity and geodiversity and contribute to [...]

Marine Scotland (MS) has invited tenders for a charter to carry out experimental scallop dredging trials in areas of hard substrate Scottish coastal waters, off the west coast of Scotland. Why this has been commissioned is anyone’s guess as the issue has been the subject of many experiments and studies conducted all around the world.

Following meetings this morning at Peterhead quay side with North East fishing representatives, including skipper Jimmy Buchan and the Chief Executive of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation, Bertie Armstrong, Scottish Conservatives Fisheries spokesman, John Scott MSP, has slammed the SNP for remarks made by their President, Ian Hudghton MEP, seemingly praising Icelandic fisheries management. John Scott [...]

The Scottish Government will shortly be running consultation events to discuss the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and Draft Plan for Offshore Wind in Scottish Territorial Waters. The SEA provides a framework for progressing the development of offshore wind energy out to 12 NM, and along with the draft plan presents the Government’s vision for offshore [...]

Scottish fishing industry leaders have called for calm heads in the wake of scientific advice recommending a 20% cut to North Sea cod quotas. The Scottish Fishermen’s Federation (SFF) have said the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES) suggestion would "kill off businesses" as right now they are absolutely at the bone [...]

According to a Scottish Government report, ‘The Economic Impact of Wildlife Tourism in Scotland’, published yesterday, the annual spend on wildlife tourism in Scotland is £276 million delivering a net economic impact of £65 million to Scotland’s economy and creating 2,760 FTE jobs. The report also found that 1.12 million trips were made every year [...]

Stuart McMillan MSP, (SNP) recently spoke in the Scottish Parliament chamber to promote the upcoming World Oceans Day which raises awareness of the oceans of the world and encourages their sustainable development and protection. World Oceans day was formally established last year by UN to occur on June 8th of every year. The 2nd Annual [...]

As part of the consultation process the Scottish Government are inviting written responses to the consultation on the Draft Plan for Offshore Wind Energy in Scottish Territorial Waters by 16 August 2010. A series of stakeholder consultation workshops will be taken forward by Marine Scotland in the coming weeks, to help explain the approach used [...]

Marine Scotland and The Crown Estate have developed a map of proposed areas for wave and tidal development in the further Scottish leasing round, as well as supporting documents on the guidelines and the scoping study that was undertaken to identify the areas suitable for development. The proposed areas are now subject to a short [...]