Majority of Scots support banning bottom trawling and scallop dredging in Marine Protected Areas

A consultation on proposals to ban bottom trawling and scallop dredging in Scotland’s offshore Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) is closing on Monday (14th October) and a national survey indicates that most Scots want to see these damaging fishing practices banned in MPAs.

The survey consisting of 2,034 people living in Scotland aged 16+, found that 63% of respondents thought that scallop dredging and bottom-trawling should not be allowed to continue inside Marine Protected Areas. Of the remaining respondents, 25% were unsure, and only 12% thought these fishing practices should continue in these important habitats.

For years the Scottish Government has routinely committed to – and subsequently missed their deadline for – delivering fisheries management measures in our MPAs. The current consultation, which was launched in late August, only covers Scotland’s offshore MPA sites, with proposals to fully ban the use of demersal mobile gear in five offshore MPAs and options for either a full or partial ban at another 15.

Many see these latest proposals as a welcome step to finally seeing long-promised fisheries management in place for the Scottish MPA network, yet are eager to see similar plans announced for Scotland’s inshore MPAs and Priority Marine Feature (PMF) habitats.

I was 14 when many of Scotland’s MPAs were designated. I’m 24 and only now are we seeing a consultation considering ending damaging practices within some and actually addressing the  protection. I’ve sat my 4th, 5th, and 6th year high school exams, graduated university, and worked two jobs in all that time. These measures are long overdue, and the fact we still have no plans for our inshore MPAs and PMFs is astonishing. It’s time for the Government to take action to safeguard ALL of Scotland’s vital and sensitive marine habitats.

Caitlin Turner

marine biologist & conservationist

Bottom trawling and dredging are fishing methods which involve dragging heavy fishing equipment across the seabed to catch fish or shellfish and have been linked to considerable environmental disturbance and bycatch of non-target species. The majority of respondents expressed concern about these fishing methods, with 56% responding that they were “concerned about bottom-trawling and scallop dredging” in the national poll. An even higher proportion (62%) expressed this view in regional polling from a selection of coastal towns and villages, including Campbeltown, Ullapool, Fraserburgh and Wick.

The majority of respondents also supported banning bottom trawling and dredging in Scotland’s inshore seas.

Polling from Our Seas coalition member Oceana also showed widespread public support for banning bottom-towed fishing in MPAs, with 81% of UK adults (83% of Scottish adults) saying bottom trawling should be banned in Marine Protected Areas.

It is not only the general public who support more sustainable fisheries management, but also the low-impact fishing industry and coastal communities who rely on positive marine environmental change.

The Scottish Government has a legal obligation both to ensure that the majority of our seabed is in healthy environmental condition and to incentivise low-impact, sustainable fishing. The offshore MPA proposals are no doubt a step in the right direction, but we are growing more and more concerned by the lack of inshore fisheries management plans which are needed to recover our fishing grounds and support the creel fishers who make up the majority of our inshore fishing fleet.

Bally Philp

National coordinator for the Scottish Creel Fishermen’s Federation
For years, coastal communities around Scotland have been crying out for the government to better manage the trawl and dredge fleet so that vital marine habitats can recover. If ministers continue to kick meaningful inshore reform into the long grass, they are not only failing their legal duty to further the conservation of biodiversity, but will themselves become one of the major threats to marine recovery and the viability of communities that depend on sustainable fisheries.

David Nairn

Clyde Porpoise CIC

The Our Seas coalition is urging the Government to roll out promised inshore marine management in order to recover important marine habitats and the coastal communities and inshore fishermen who rely on them.

We have seen huge increases in biodiversity in areas with restrictions on damaging fishing methods such as bottom trawling and scallop dredging. Our inshore seas are considered the cradle of life as they provide vitally important nursery and feeding habitats for many marine species. If we let these areas recover, then we could see a return of commercially-important fish species such as cod and herring which our coastal communities and inshore fisheries once relied on.

Hayley Wolcott

coordinator of the Our Seas coalition

Respond to the consultation

The Scottish Government is currently consulting on proposals to ban bottom trawling and scallop dredging in Scotland’s Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). This consultation only covers Scotland’s offshore MPA sites, with proposals to fully ban the use of demersal mobile gear in five offshore MPAs and options for either a full or partial ban at another 15. 

The government recognised the impact that bottom-towed fishing had on the features of the sites and started to develop proposal for fisheries management measures within them back in 2015. The ongoing delay of getting these proposals over the line has left these sites and important features at risk of damage for over ten years. Removal of bottom towed fishing through the whole MPA network is the bare minimum for MPA management and it’s about time that the government fulfilled their commitments.

You can help Scotland’s vital offshore marine habitats recover by responding to the Government consultation by 14th October calling for a full ban on bottom-towed fishing in all 20 offshore MPAs. For more information on the consultation and how to respond, check out these useful guides from Young Sea Changers Scotland and Scottish Environmental LINK. If you are short on time, Oceana UK and Scottish Environmental LINK are running e-actions which let you respond to the consultation in less than a minute.

Survation polling

The Our Seas coalition commissioned Survation to conduct a nationally representative survey of Scotland to  investigate awareness of and attitudes towards Scottish fisheries management. This survey was supplemented by a regional poll of residents living in coastal communities in Scotland to  explore the same issues. The rationale for this survey was to get insight on local and regional opinions of Scottish fisheries management issues which are not contained in official national statistics. 

The Survation poll was conducted between December 2022 and January 2023. It consisted of national online survey of (2034 residents in Scotland aged 16+) and regional telephone survey focusing on coastal communities (432 residents aged 16+ of Campbeltown, Eyemouth, Fraserburgh, Kinlochbervie, Kirkcudbright, Lochinver, Oban, Portree, Stonehaven, Troon, Ullapool, and Wick).

Call for Inshore Recovery

Scotland’s inshore seas were once safeguarded by an inshore limit which banned bottom trawling within 3 miles of shore. For nearly a hundred years, this ‘three mile limit’ protected fish spawning and nursery grounds and the fishermen working close to shore. After years of overfishing offshore, industry lobbying saw the inshore limit to be repealed in 1984, allowing bottom-trawling within three miles of shore. Today bottom-trawling is allowed in 90% of our coastal seas, scallop dredging in 95%, including within Marine Protected Areas. Since the removal of the three mile limit, many fish stocks in these coastal waters have plummeted, causing drastic job losses and insecurity for fishermen around Scotland’s coast. Scotland’s seabed habitats are its greatest carbon sink, yet they have been reduced to a fraction of their historic extent.

We can once again have healthy inshore ecosystems that support productive, resilient fisheries. Sign our petition calling for a modern #InshoreLimit so we can build a better future for communities, fishermen, and the many  who rely on a productive, diverse environment.

TAKE ACTION

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *