ForArgyll has recently written about the marine bills working their way through the Parliaments of Westminster and Holyrood. The Marine and Coastal Access Bill is the English and Welsh version which was given Royal Assent yesterday (12^th November). If you were to believe the government spin surrounding it you could be forgiven for believing that ‘all’s well’ now and that our politicians have our best interests at heart. Wrong.

What follows are extracts from a press release, loosed appropriately perhaps on Friday the 13^th. For the marine environment, this is ‘Black Friday’.

It is issued by Scottish Natural Heritage on behalf of:

• The Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC)
• The Council for Nature Conservation and the Countryside
• The Countryside Council for Wales,
• Natural England
• Scottish Natural Heritage

The Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) is the statutory adviser to Government on UK and international nature conservation.

Spin (in italics) and translations

New Parliamentary Act will help conserve Scotland’s unique offshore marine environment.

Regardless of any legislation, literature and empty promises concerning the marine environment, nothing will be achieved without the political will to deliver it. Scotland is already one of the world leaders in boasting about its marine heritage yet little of what is preached is actually occurring at sea level let alone below it.

The Scottish Government’s pledge to deliver ‘clean, healthy, safe, productive, biologically diverse marine and coastal environments’ moved one step closer to reality yesterday as the UK Marine and Coastal Access Bill gained Royal Assent to become the Marine and Coastal Access Act. The Act will not only help meet the long term needs of nature and the public, but also provide the hugely important legal mechanism for the designation of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). These new measures will be used to protect the UK’s diverse and biologically rich marine environment and help enhance its reputation as a world-leader in marine environmental protection.

This government’s claim to green credentials is less than it seems. What is worse, an SNP politician opposed the closure of the Firth of Lorn Special Area of Conservation (SAC) during part of a legal process – not once but five times. That MSP is Richard Lochhead, now the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Fisheries. It now appears that government pressure is being applied to have the SAC re-opened to scallop dredging – recognised as a mode of fishing that inflicts serious long-term damage to the sea bed – before relevant and agreed scientific work has been concluded.

Scotland’s seas are unique to the UK and Europe, hosting a range of nationally important marine features; from habitats such as coldwater coral reefs and seamounts, to species including many commercially important fish; 36% of the world’s population of grey seals; the most northerly resident population of bottlenose dolphins; minke whales and most of the UK’s reported sightings of basking shark. Site based protection measures exist for some of these features through Special Areas of Conservation (SACs), designated under the EC Habitats Directive. However, new legislation was required to designate Marine Protected Areas for other remaining features that are of nature conservation importance, such as the flameshell, northern sea fan, common skate and burrowing anemone.

This is probably the most factual paragraph in the press release and it is interesting that it should include seals within it. ForArgyll has recently highlighted the problems that seals face in Scotland especially in Argyll. The Act only covers waters between 12 and 200 miles in Scotland. Very little actual protection could possibly be given to seals ‘at sea’ – probably none – and Common Seals are also unlikely to travel that far out to sea. Little has been achieved in the past to stop by-catch of porpoise, dolphins and even whales. Once again the government informs the public that our waters host unique and nationally important marine features. Can this new legislation protect these species from by-catch or trawl destruction?

The UK Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 provides the necessary framework for Scottish Ministers to manage human activities in our marine environment in a sustainable manner. In particular, the Act enables Scottish Ministers to designate MPAs in Scottish offshore waters (beyond 12 nautical miles from the coast) for the conservation of important marine habitats and species. The Scottish Government is working closely with the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) to ensure that the site selection process is underpinned by sound scientific advice.

Marine Protected Areas, when accompanied by ‘no-take’ zones, have a proven track record around the World for halting the depletion of the fish stocks. They provide safe havens for fish and other species vitally important to the food chain. They are actually known to produce ‘biomass overspill’ – that’s fish becoming available to fishermen, leading to increased catch and greater diversity. There is a small section hidden within the text of the (now) Act which may allow for ‘no-take’ to be implemented in England and Wales but that is it. Political will would be needed to ensure that it happens.

The Scottish Bill is much worse. It contains a clause that actually prevents the formation of these much needed marine reserves. What is more important is that it covers the all important fish nurseries within the 12 mile limits, the shallow productive regions along the Continental Shelf. The Cabinet Secretary recently, wrongly used the Common Fisheries Policy as an excuse as to why the Scottish Government could not produce this type of protection within the six mile limit. This is very worrying for future stocks and for the future of the fishing industry.

Marcus Yeo, Managing Director of JNCC said: ‘Scotland is endowed with a wealth of marine life and natural features which require safeguarding for future generations. JNCC is looking forward to working in partnership with Scottish Government and Scottish Natural Heritage to identify a range of MPAs that will support the conservation of these vitally important natural assets’.

Scotland has very special marine ecosystems and once again we see it in black and white. This time it is even described as ‘for future generations’ – not unless we enforce the necessary protection.

Scottish Government is taking further measures to ensure that inshore waters around Scotland (within 12 nautical miles from the coast) are also afforded targeted protection. The Marine (Scotland) Bill, which was introduced to Scottish Parliament on 29 April 2009, includes new powers to designate MPAs in Scottish inshore waters. Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) will make recommendations to the Scottish Government about new MPAs within inshore waters.

While the Marine (Scotland) Bill does contain a section on MPAs it also contains exclusions to those MPAs – one of which is that there can be no restriction to mobile fisheries. This means no ‘no-take-zones’ – the all important element that makes marine reserves successful. NOw, under this legislation, Scotland can’t have them.

Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment, Richard Lochhead said: ’Our waters are home to some of the most spectacular wildlife and marine habitats on the planet. They also make a huge contribution to the economy through industries such as fishing. The powers in the UK Act delivered to Scotland are an important part of our new system for managing our seas for current and future generations. Together with the powers in our own Scottish Marine Bill they will enable Scotland to develop a network of MPAs and contribute to international efforts to protect marine biodiversity’.

This is yet more spin. An MPA without no-take-zones is about as useful as a Presidential bodyguard packing no gun.

In recognition of the important contribution marine industries and activities can make to Scotland’s future, Scottish Government will take measures to further ensure that the sea users are involved in developing recommendations on the establishment of MPAs.

This has more spin than a Victorian child’s spinning top. It has already been stated that the new partnerships will be built upon existing marine management processes such as Scottish Marine Environment Initiatives. These are the very same initiatives that have excluded local environmental groups from the working group, purporting a democratic process which was anything but that.

If the Scottish Government is serious about protecting the marine environment for our future and that of future generations, it should take the lead from the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution’s 25^th Report; ‘Turning the Tide’. The Commissioners were appointed to advise on matters, both national and international, concerning:

• the pollution of the environment
• the adequacy of research in this field
• the future possibilities of danger to the environment.

Their report was submitted to ‘Her Majesty the Queen and the Secretaries of State and Her Majesties Ministers’.  This superb report covers the impact of fisheries on the marine environment and advocates 30% of the sea area as MPAs, if we are serious about regenerating our fish stocks this figure is not negotiable.

Mark Carter, Environmental Editor

For more reading on this subject try The End of the Line by Charles Clover. His introduction on the back cover states: ‘We have reached a pivotal moment with fishing, as we did with farming in the late 20^th Century’.

In his global exploration of the destruction caused by modern technological fishing, we discover that fishermen are trashing whole ecosystems, wrecking economies, impoverishing the lives of people in poor countries through rapacious neo-colonialism and unsustainable forms of trade to put fish on our plates. The Scottish Marine Bill, as it stands, fails as a mechanism to prevent this.

The photograph above shows  Scotland’s diverse offshore marine environment: Gorgonians, coldwater corals and sponges carpet the seafloor on Anton Dohrn seamount; 155km west offshore from St Kilda (© JNCC 2009).

Related Posts

• Marine Bill conference a ‘No Take’ zone for Lochhead? (0)
• ‘There’s a porpoise close behind me…’ (1)
• Shaming Government dereliction of duty on pregnant seals (1)
• Argyll: the UK’s most accessible marine ‘hot spot’ (2)
• SNH reports on Scotland as 2010 International Year of Biodiversity gets going (2)

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