Hundreds and hundreds of thousands of pounds of tax payers money has been spent over the last few years on forums, meetings and consultations on the marine environment.

The initiatives range from Scottish Coastal Forum, Integrated Coastal Zone Management, Coastal, and Marine National Park, Scottish Marine Environment Initiative, Inshore Fisheries Groups, and a plethora of localised groups such as Firth of Clyde Forum and the Moray Firth Management Plan.

With all this money spent on meeting costs, production costs – including publicity and top quality production material – what has actually materialised on the ground, in the local community at sea-level and below? Very little as it turns out.

Immoral, colossal amounts of fish discards still take place. The ‘black’ catch (illegal landing of fish) is still landed and thought still to be around the same levels as permitted quotas. Scallop dredging still occurs in vitally important fish nursery grounds, effectively destroying the habitat for fish recruitment.

In one area of genuine success – the Firth of Lorn Special Area of Conservation – pressure is being applied from the Scottish Government no less to re-open the extremely diverse region to tangle nets and scallop dredging. Tangle nets are notorious for their by-catch of birds, seals, porpoise and dolphins and the latter for its destruction of the seabed habitats.

And now, to add insult to injury, Argyll and Bute Council has produced a press release calling for the views of the public on the Sound of Mull’s SSMEI (Scottish Marine Environment Initiative.

The make-up of the Sound of Mull Working Group is heavily biased in favour of the commercial industries such as fisheries and aquaculture. Several other members come from small remote communities and are either ‘friendly’ with members of the commercial sectors or could be socially outcast for going against them.

Hebridean Partnership, a locally founded group of like minded people calling for protection of the marine environment alongside sustainable environmentally friendly use of the seas, were involved with the SSMEI concept from its start. Members even wrote to the then Minister for the Environment, Ross Finnie MSP, when it appeared that the Sound of Mull project might fail partially due to local pressures.

Hebridean Partnership fulfilled three of the four selection criteria to the Working Group – and the listings precluded any group from achieving all four.

The Chairman Councillor Marshal could not understand why an open, voluntary, public based group should be omitted. Dr Cunningham, SSMEI Sound of Mull Project Officer, said that the group, partly chosen by her, must go through a selection process, voted on by the Working Group, a group made up largely by the same associations that have previously clashed with Hebridean Partnership over several environmental issues.

Hebridean Partnership was not invited to join – and Argyll and Bute officers stated that a democratic process had been followed. A handpicked group, largely with a vested interest, voting on issues which affect all of the stake holders in the area cannot easily be accepted as ‘democratic’. Professor Galbraith, Director of Policy and Advice for SNH, said at the recent Marine Bill Conference that he ‘would look into matters’. Nothing has been heard from him since.

The SSMEI project has been running for two and a half years. This is two and a half years with limited input from environmental groups. But now, once the Working Group has produced its findings, the ‘public’ are invited to comment. The whole process has already been skewed in favour of the commercial sectors with very little chance of real change. Dr Cunningham, who is on maternity leave, was unavailable for comment.

ForArgyll has been told in an Argyll & Bute Council press release that;

‘It (SSMEI) also makes recommendations on what future developments should take into consideration, to better complement the existing activities in the area, and ensure the well being of the local communities and the environment’.

This is seen as very worrying to environmental groups and local people, many of whom feel that they cannot speak out for fear of retribution. In fact at least one member of the Sound of Mull Working Group showed little concept of the project when a comment of his at a meeting implied that groups not based in the Sound of Mull should not be allowed in.

This project was always far more than just about the Sound of Mull and its two sides. The marine environment is highly dynamic. We can’t simply stop the seas from entering one region or another. The last person purportedly to try was King Canute. The whole concept of SSMEI was to set up four project areas around Scotland whose outcomes would help to form and shape future marine events and feed into the current Marine Bill and, eventually, Act.

Argyll is fortunate or rather – as it turns out – unfortunate to host two of the four SSMEI projects – the Firth of Clyde and the Sound of Mull.  Mr Sinclair of the Scottish Creelers and Divers Association said, ‘It’s too little, too late. We just seem to skirt around the issues and do nothing’. He went on to say, ‘We don’t get paid to attend these meetings, we do it out of passion for our way of living and care for the seas around us. Sometimes we wonder what’s the point, when nothing actually gets done’.

Mr Sinclair, finished by saying that it appears that, some in office just treat these issues as a ‘day job’. Many are close to retirement and just want an easy, quiet life, by keeping the current unsustainable ways going. But what are we going to leave for the next generations?

The Argyll & Bute Council SSMEI plan is being released for public consultation on the 1^st of December, with the consultation period running until the 28^th of February 2010.

As part of the consultation the SSMEI project will be holding public drop-in sessions for members of the public to learn more about the plan, and to provide any feedback on how the project has been conducted so far. Drop in session details are as follows:

• 7th December: LOCHALINE,  VILLAGE HALL,  3:00pm to 8:00pm
• 8^th December : KILCHOAN, COMMUNITY CENTRE , 3:00pm to 8:00pm
• 9^th December: TOBERMORY – AROS HALL,  3:00pm to 8:00pm
• 10^th December: CRAIGNURE – VILLAGE HALL, 3:00pm to 8:00pm

If you would like to know more about the Sound of Mull SSMEI project you can find it online at: www.argyll-bute.gov.uk/ssmeisoundofmull

Mark Carter – Environmental Editor

The photograph above – Animal or Algae? – is by copyright holder Mark Carter.

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