Forty years ago today, decisions in Westminster profoundly changed the dynamics of Scotland’s coastal and fishing communities. At the stroke of a pen, Ministers passed legislation which removed a ban on bottom-trawling that had been in place for nearly 100 years. It has been described as one of the most disastrous decisions ever made in the … [Continue Reading]
Locals call for urgent protection of newly-confirmed herring spawning grounds off Wester Ross
A team of national and local citizen scientists have recorded herring spawning on an area of sensitive seabed habitat off the coast of North Erradale, near Gairloch and are calling for urgent protection of the breeding ground of this commercially important fish population. On March 12th, a team of local scientists found vast areas of … [Continue Reading]
Beyond HPMAs: Scotland’s inshore fisheries need recovery, not protection
Highly Protected Marine Areas have provoked recent outcry, but 40 years ago Scotland’s inshore fishermen faced a much bigger threat. For nearly one hundred years, Scotland’s inshore fishing businesses had been safeguarded by a limit on bottom-trawling within three miles of the shore. This protection had been demanded by fishermen in the 1880s who recognised … [Continue Reading]