Scottish Marine Bill summary

The government has produced a document giving an overview of the aims of the Scottish Marine Bill. It covers the following main areas :

• Marine Planning:
• A new statutory marine planning framework to manage the competing demands for the use of the sea whilst protecting the marine environment. Making sure that marine energy, fishing, aquaculture, shipping, recreational and other sea users use marine resources wisely while maximising the benefit to Scotland.
• Better Marine Licensing:
• A streamlined licensing system to improve and speed up the decision making for developments in the marine environment.
• Marine Conservation:
• Better ways of protecting natural and cultural marine features, including marine species and habitats, wrecks and other submerged sites of interest.
• More Protection for Seals:
• Improved protection for seals and a new comprehensive licence system to allow appropriate management when necessary.
• Common Enforcement Powers:
• Better and more flexible enforcement powers for Scottish marine enforcement officers to allow them to monitor and enforce the marine licensing and conservation provisions.

The document may be viewed here or downloaded from here (pdf).

Category: Scottish Government News