09 Jun 2015
Scotland’s marine protected areas (MPAs) are in the balance. The Cabinet Secretary Richard Lochhead is in the process of signing-off crucial documents that will indicate the proposed future management for Scotland’s MPAs. We are concerned that certain types of fishing which can damage seafloor habitats will be allowed to continue in large areas of the […]
28 Apr 2015
Artist Julia Barton has a good idea. She is convinced that art can make a difference to the health of our coastal environments. So she set up the Littoral Art Project in 2013 and is now crowdfunding for an innovative tool that could help change the way we think about the litter problem on our […]
15 Apr 2015
How we manage our deep seas and offshore fisheries are vital questions for Scotland’s future. And yet democratic opportunities for public feedback are few and far between. Our blog explores the problem and suggests a few solutions… Within 12 nautical miles of Scotland’s coastline are Scotland’s territorial waters, our inshore. But our Scottish Government also has executively […]
12 Sep 2014
In August, Glasgow hosted the International Marine Conservation Congress. This was a big deal. Over an intense week, the world’s most creative and motivated minds in marine science gathered together to discuss solutions to the urgent problems facing our shared ocean. It was also – in domestic terms – very timely. Here in Scotland, we […]
02 Sep 2014
This month, the Scottish Parliament’s Rural Affairs Climate Change & Environment (RACCE) Committee took the welcome step of exercising its role of post-legislative scrutiny – and lent its analytical lens to the important issue of Marine Protected Area project and its continued implementation. For anyone not following the detail of what has been a complex […]
18 Aug 2014
The Wester Ross MPA was put forward as a 3rd party community proposal and is of clear cultural and socio-economic importance to the proponents. This area has historically boasted a rich and diverse marine ecosystem and, while many key species and habitats are still found within the MPA, local residents and marine users have witnessed […]
25 Jun 2014
This summer, the Scottish Government will set up as many as 33 new nature conservation Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in Scotland’s seas. This is a watershed moment for our seas, which have been damaged by decades of unsustainable use. Over 10,000 people voiced their support for MPAs during the Scottish consultation in 2013. The politicians are now deciding […]
12 May 2014
As the building blocks for a network of MPAs develop, a new paper by Heriot Watt researcher Kate Gormley[1] explores what considerations for management are affected by network design. Human activities now place heavy pressures on marine ecosystems around the world and, as a result, there has been an unprecedented increase in proposed Marine Protected Areas. Scientists have previously considered what MPAs […]
24 Oct 2013
Over 30 events have been held across Scotland since August about government plans to develop a network of MPAs. Peter Cunningham, biologist at the Wester Ross Fisheries Trust – who attended an event in Poolewe – says that local engagement with the proposal is essential… Around 30 local people attended our local Marine Protected Area (MPA) […]
27 Aug 2013
Could interlinked fish and crustacean populations affect the declining health of local seagrass beds? Peter Cunningham of the Wester Ross Fisheries Trust explores the possibility in light of fresh research from across the pond… Recently I had a snorkel along the shore of Loch Ewe where we tried to re-establish some seagrass in an area […]
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