Entanglement is the biggest identified cause of death due to human activity for minke and humpback whales, and the extent of the issue has not been well understood. Whales and other marine animals can become entangled in fishing equipment, including the ropes linking creels (also known as pots), which are set around Scotland’s coasts to […]
In the third year of annual fisheries negotiations with the UK operating as an independent coastal state, the UK and EU agreed catch levels for 69 important fish stocks. This included some of the most commercially valuable stocks to the UK fishing industry such as North Sea Nephrops (£54m), Anglerfish (£31m) and Western hake (£25m). […]
Scottish Secretary for the Environment, Mairi McAllan has confirmed that under the National Marine Plan, the government will make it mandatory for all scallop dredgers and pelagic vessels to be fitted with remote electronic monitoring equipment (REM) technology. The Minister says she believes, “REM provides opportunities to modernise the way in which accountability and confidence […]
People in Scotland believe sewage and chemical pollution pose the biggest threat to the health of our seas, according to new research. The opinion poll, conducted by Survation on behalf of the environmental coalition Scottish Environment LINK, also found high levels of public concern over litter and the impact of climate change on our seas. […]
A new survey has revealed Scots’ fears over sewage pollution after untreated human waste was dumped in waterways 10,000 times in a year, a report in the Daily Record states. The research, conducted by Scottish Environment LINK, found litter pollution also high up the list of concerns. A total of 91 per cent of people polled said […]
The Our Seas coalition, a group of 135 organisations, have written an open letter to the BBC suggesting that the BBC TV series Trawlermen ‘has missed a vital opportunity to explore urgent sustainability issues, as well as failing to reflect the important diversity of the fishing industry.’ The coalition says that the new series launched in […]
Water scarcity has already proven to be a significant impact in eastern parts of Scotland this year as the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) reveals the extent of extreme, dry conditions experienced. This summer in the east was the tenth driest in 100 years. Eight out of the last 12 months saw below […]
The Marine Litter Strategy for Scotland was first published in 2014 and serves to co-ordinate action on marine litter throughout the whole of Scotland. The updated Strategy will build on this positive work, with action planned on sewage-related debris, plastic pellets, and fishing and aquaculture gear. The Scottish Government has published the refreshed […]