MPAs and the fishing industry

"A Marine Protected Area network in Scotland’s Seas is designed to conserve a selection of marine biodiversity (species and habitats) and geodiversity (the variety of landforms and natural processes that underpin the marine landscapes), offering long-term support for the services our seas provide to society."

The quote above is taken from the Scottish Government's website and perfectly defines the aims of what MPAs are set up to protect. However, preserving marine species requires quotas to be placed on economically important species to the fishing industry. Some of Scotland's more heavily fished species include: cod; whiting; haddock and a variety of shellfish, including shrimp.

By placing quotas on the amount of fish that can be caught by fisherman however, you are also impacting the industry. The implementation of the new Scottish MPA network in 2014, that I outlined in an earlier blog post, has been met with general hostility from the fishing industry in Scotland. This is due to the impact that the quotas may have on the viability of the west of Scotland fishing fleet.

The Scottish Fisherman's Federation (SFF) released an article on their website indicating their frustration towards the Scottish Government relating to the West Scotland MPA network, in particular the South Arran MPA. The local community feels that the Scottish Government have not taken into account their views and the impact on the local economy. In response, the SFF called on MSPs to block a vote on the implementation of new guidelines for the South Arran MPA, which would have put greater restrictions on their fishing quotas. 

The following is a quote from another article on the SFF website that highlights the plight of local fishermen and how they feel towards the Scottish MPA network:

“We appreciate that the marine area around Scotland is a common resource with many stakeholders, each having their own right to comment and input. However there is a concern over the level of exclusion felt amongst many fishing communities and the industry. Fishermen are first-hand stakeholders and sustainable users and guardians of the marine environment. Projects like the recently celebratedFishing for Litter scheme and the continuing efforts in conjunction with Marine Scotland to improve gear selectivity go some way to demonstrating our industry’s progressive commitment."

It must be said, there appears to be a lack of cooperation from the Scottish Government in relation to this matter as there appears to be no direct response to the fears of these fishing communities. The only response I was able to surface from the internet was from the Fisheries Secretary at Holyrood, Richard Lochhead, who said in a recent EU meeting: “Clearly, there is an ongoing debate over the economic impact. I said I would listen to the evidence and I have done that.” Hardly a straightforward answer.

Therefore, it remains to be seen what the true impact of the implementation of the new MPA network will truly have on the fishermen in Scottish waters. The data for this article is all freely available on the internet and was generally easy to find via a simple Google search. However, there is a clear lack of data on the subject apart from a handful of statements from either side of the argument. There appears to be very little in the way of neutral journalism from established news sources surrounding the subject, which was highly frustrating.