A government plan to designate at least 10 percent of Scotland’s seas as highly protected marine areas (HPMAs) by 2026 will not be implemented – for now.
On 29 June, Scotland Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Net Zero, and Just Transition Màiri McAllan announced that as part of a power-sharing deal with the Scottish National Party (SNP), McAllan’s Scottish Green Party would drop its push to make 10 percent of Scotland’s exclusive economic zone into HPMAs, which would severely limit fishing activity. McAllan cited opposition from coastal communities as a factor in the decision.
“I have been clear from the beginning that this government believes, and is utterly convinced, that we must take forward enhanced marine protection in Scotland’s waters,” McAllan said in a statement. “Equally, however, we are committed to doing so by a process in which communities can have faith and that represents fairness and justice, and that is exactly what we will continue to take forward.”
Seafood industry groups, including Salmon Scotland Chief Executive Tavish Scott and Scottish Fishermen’s Federation Chief Executive Elspeth Macdonald, lauded the announcement but warned the Green Party against “attempting to disguise its fundamental flaws by renaming it.”
“Ministers will now need to reassure people that they are not simply intent on introducing the same policy by the back door,” Macdonald said. “The seafood sector has set out a clear pathway on how we can work with government to strike the right balance between nature conservation and sustainable use, and the test for government now is to deliver upon that."
McAllan responded to a question about whether the proposal had really been abandoned by saying she and the Green Party, of which she is a member, will continue to push for marine protections.
“Although I have confirmed today that the HPMA policy as consulted on will not be taken forward, investing in ocean health requires a range of interventions across all our seas that we must continue to progress as a matter of urgency,” McAllan said. “Scotland’s existing marine protected area network covers around 37 percent of our seas, but individual sites must be effectively managed if they are to achieve their objectives, and we must also do more to safeguard our particularly vulnerable species and habitats.”
Macdonald said only a total quashing of the proposal would satisfy a coalition of seafood industry groups – including the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation, Salmon Scotland, the Scottish Association of Fish Producers’ Organisations, the Community Fisheries Inshore Alliance, and the Scottish Seafood Association – that have lobbied against the plan.
“Opposition to this policy, which lacks scientific rationale, is widespread throughout our coastal communities. The Scottish government needs to scrap it, not rebrand it, and carry out a complete rethink without pandering to the Greens whose desire to halt legitimate economic activity with a low carbon footprint is dangerous and damaging,” she said.
Member of the Scottish Parliament Ariane Burgess, a Green Party member, fed doubts about the sincerity of McAllan’s pronouncement in an interview with the BBC.
"The agreement is totally intact and we are constantly in conversation with our colleagues in the SNP, and I am confident that the marine protections that we're both committed to bringing in will come forward,” Burgess said.
Scotland Shadow Rural Affairs Secretary Rachael Hamilton responded by calling for more clarity from McAllan.
"The cabinet secretary has a duty to tell Scotland's fishing communities the truth about the coalition’s plans for HPMAs – because she and the Greens are giving flatly contradictory messages,” Hamilton told the Scottish Daily Express. "Ariane Burgess's comments on the BBC's Sunday Show have cemented my fear … the restrictions will reappear in a different guise.”
A Scottish government spokesperson responded to that request with a statement saying McAllan had been “clear when she set out our position to parliament.”
“While we remain firmly committed to the outcome of enhanced marine protection, the proposal as consulted on will not be progressed and a full response to the consultation and information on the next steps will be published after summer recess,” the spokesperson said. “[McAllan] has made clear that she is determined to protect our oceans in a way that is fair, and to find a way forward that ensures our seas remain a source of prosperity for the nation, especially in our remote coastal and island communities.”
McAllan said on 29 June she was aware the HPMA proposal was a source of strife in Scotland’s coastal communities.
“There has been a lot of heat in the debate about HPMAs, and I hope that my commitment to develop a new pathway with all those who will join me round the table will allow a great deal less heat, and more light, into discussion of the matter,” she said. “I am clear that both enhanced marine protection and a whole-community approach is required.”
McAllan laid out a new timeline and scope for her work “in line with our draft biodiversity strategy and its ambition for Scotland to be nature-positive by 2030” and in accordance with the European Union’s target of having enhanced marine protection in place covering at least 10 percent of its seas by 2030.
“We have an ongoing program of work to implement fisheries management measures in existing MPAs where they are yet to be introduced, and to protect some of the most vulnerable priority marine features outside the MPA network. Those measures were delayed by Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic. However, we are committed to putting them in place as soon as possible, following due process, and I welcome the fishing industry’s support in moving them forward,” she said. “I can confirm that, after the summer recess, we will consult on proposals for fisheries management measures in offshore MPAs beyond 12 nautical miles. The options to be consulted on have been the subject of extensive engagement over many years with all stakeholders.”
McAllan acknowledged her work on establishing marine protections has been slowed by public opposition and the potential impact it would have on Scotland’s seafood industry.
“Inshore MPAs and priority marine features also require fisheries management measures. However, the complexity of the inshore area and the number of sites have meant that progress has been slower than was hoped – therefore, consultation on inshore measures will take place in 2024,” she said.
Photo courtesy of the Scottish government
