We urgently need to help Scotland’s seas recover. On paper, Scotland has a network of marine protected areas, intended to help conserve our fantastic ocean wildlife. The Scottish government is required to design and implement fishing restrictions for each marine protected area. But these crucial protections are more than ten years overdue.
Scottish Environment LINK asked supporters to write personal messages to Gillian Martin, Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy, telling her why they care about Scotland’s seas, and why they want the Scottish government to protect our marine protected areas without further delay.
The messages came from across the country, from people with first-hand experience of the decline of our seas, and from people concerned about the world their children and grandchildren will inherit if we don’t act now.
Here are just some of those powerful messages…
I have lived on the shores of Loch Hourn since 1975 and for much of that time I made a living from the sea (crab and lobster fishing, mussel farming). I have watched as the marine ecology has declined to the state that now there are virtually no wild Atlantic salmon, very few mackerel in the summer and almost no cod or pollock remain.
Richard, Highland
The waters around our shores are becoming barren and wasted because of pollution and over-fishing. We must take difficult decisions to ensure that the seas around our coasts can sustain our wildlife and ourselves. This is an investment in our futures.
Pauline, Na h-Eileanan Siar
Having been a keen Scuba diver for years and seen the wonders in the seas, I have appreciated being able to see the beauty of it all. We have watched fishing boats come in and devastate the floor of the sea with their trawling in protected waters. So I strongly support the protection of marine areas.
Maggie, Clackmannanshire
Living in Macduff on the Moray Firth I am aware how critical fishing is to the local economy, but as the disappearance of the herring shoals in the last century [and] dwindling stocks of many species show, protection is essential now if the industry is to survive to benefit future generations.
Neville, Aberdeenshire
As a long-time marine biologist I am concerned at delays in implementing protections for important habitats. Out of sight should not be out of mind, as often happens with marine habitats.
Clare, Perth and Kinross
Having been brought up in the north west of Scotland I’ve seen far too much evidence of the damage caused when we don’t look after the marine environment. Our sea beds are in crisis after years and years of destruction. We must do all we can to protect what’s left.
Mairi, Stirling
It takes millions of years to create a coral reef and seconds to destroy it.
Rosemary, Edinburgh
I grew up beside the sea, the son of a fisherman who gave his life to his work and helped two of his sons to follow him. Small boats and sustainable. They gave up in mid life as they could no longer make a living. Very large fishing vessels arrived and more or less destroyed the fishing by using ten times the amount of creels my family did and that was only one boat! Please do something now or it will be too late.
Peter, East Renfrewshire
Myself and my wife go on litter picks on a regular basis to our nearest beaches. But it is the damage to the marine environment that we cannot see, cannot pick up and bin, that worries me the most.
Ian, Edinburgh
From my house I hear the sound of scallop dredgers from the Isle of Man destroying our seabed, despite the Sound of Jura being a Marine Protected Area.
Pinkie, Argyll and Bute
As a mother, I am extremely concerned about the climate crisis and its effects on Scotland and the future of my children in this country. On a recent trip to the coast I was horrified to notice the lack of wildlife, and on further investigation to learn how depleted our seas are becoming – one of our country’s most beautiful and important assets.
Aimee, Falkirk
Protecting our ocean habitats from the most destructive types of fishing is a no-brainer – healthier seas, healthier people, healthier wildlife, improved fish stocks and wildlife tourism, immense carbon capture… surely this has to be a priority for the Scottish Government.
Caroline, Highland
I have been sailing on the west coast of Scotland for 60+ years and have been very concerned about the reduction on all wildlife over that time. A very visual example of this is effect on phosphorescence which has nearly disappeared. As a boy I would see the light created by rowing and even more dramatic when diving into the water.
Mike, Edinburgh
I am a scuba diver and know only too well how amazing but fragile the sea bed and marine ecosystems are. I want my grandchildren to be able to see what I have seen.
Annette, Highland
I have had the great fortune to travel to beautiful countries that prioritise nature because they know just how vital the health of the planet’s ecosystems for the future of human health. I have seen Marine Protected Areas that are truly being protected, and I have heard the stories from local fishermen who know firsthand how effective these can be for increasing fish stocks in neighbouring waters. It truly is a win-win.
Hayley, Edinburgh
I am old enough to remember angling from the piers in Oban in the 1970s and catching Cod and Pollack that were large enough to take home to eat. When was the last time anyone went angling off these piers? I have never seen anyone do so in the last 25 years. There are simply no fish to catch there since their spawning grounds were decimated by the inshore bottom trawling that has taken place since the 1980s.
Jonathan, Argyll and Bute
We live near the coast where there was seafloor vacuuming occurring for days and nights and from which it is still, 30 years later, recovering.
Beryll, Highland
Many years ago, I was on a boat using dredges to fish for scallops. I saw the damage these did to the sea bed, so I’m well aware of how much our waters need protection.
Brian, Argyll and Bute
I was really surprised and appalled to learn that trawler fishing is still allowed in marine protected areas.
Joanna, Highland
I am a researcher working on translation and marine mammal ecology, currently on a project in the U.S. I have seen the wonders marine protection can do in North America. I wish the same for my home country, Scotland.
Sebnem, Edinburgh
I live in Orkney, so I am never far from the sea. I am increasingly concerned about the decline in animal and plant species both on land and in the sea due to habitat loss, pollution and damaging operations such as trawling. I believe we ignore these issues at our peril!
Sally, Orkney Islands
Don’t let Scotland’s marine environments become wastelands.
Julie, East Dunbartonshire
I have spent many years volunteering for the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society. In my time volunteering with them I have had the pleasure of seeing a multitude of marine life both above and below the water’s surface… Whales and dolphins face many threats including bycatch, entanglement and prey depletion. Implementing effective fisheries management measures throughout Scotland’s MPAs is integral to ensuring that these sensitive species thrive in our waters.
R, Na h-Eileanan Siar
All evidence suggests that when significant fishery projection measures are in place, especially those restricting bottom trawling, the wildlife, the tourism industry and ultimately the local fishermen themselves benefit from a more diverse and productive marine environment.
Paul, Aberdeenshire
I am a Scuba diver who has dived every year in Scottish waters since 1976, and have seen a decline in both species numbers and diversity in that time. I am disgusted when I see the damage done in our shallower waters by dredging activities – species and their habitats ripped up from the seabed and scattered about in ruins.
Jeff, Sheffield
I am a teacher and how can I expect the children at school to care about the environment if they see evidence that the Scottish government isn’t doing it’s very best to help.
Amanda, East Lothian
Top image: Cath Bain, Whale and Dolphin Conservation