UK and Scottish Ministers have presented reports to the two Parliaments setting out progress and information on the Marine Protected Area network for Scotland, and English waters (inshore and offshore) and Northern Ireland offshore waters. This is a requirement under the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 and Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 (MCAA).
Key facts for Scotland
- Seventeen new Marine Protected Areas since 2018 means that more features are now part of the Scottish MPA network. Thirteen of these sites have been designated for birds and five include mobile species such as minke whale, basking shark, Risso’s dolphin and flapper skate. Three sites have had their boundaries extended.
- The majority of sites in the network (70%) have partially implemented management measures.
- Work is currently underway to implement management measures for fishing activity across a large proportion of the Scottish Marine Protected Area network. A public consultation on measures for inshore MPAs and Priority Marine Features is planned for 2025.
- The majority of sites are either moving towards (30%) or partially moving towards (47%) their conservation objectives, highlighting that the condition of features is generally varied within sites.
Key facts for England and Northern Ireland offshore
- Since the last reporting period in 2018, designation of the third tranche of Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) has taken place, which introduced 41 new sites to the MPA network.
- The designation of three Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMAs).
- The MPA network now consists of 181 MPAs across 35,000 square miles, or 40% of English waters.
- After the third tranche of MCZ designations in 2019, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) considered the MPA network to be substantially complete and representative of the English and Northern Ireland offshore marine environment.
- Notable management measures that have been implemented during this reporting period are stages 1 and 2 of the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) offshore fishing byelaw programme. These have introduced measures to limit the use of damaging fishing gear over sensitive habitats within offshore MPAs.
The future for England’s MPAs
Offshore wind
In order to deliver Net Zero, the government is committed to a significant expansion of offshore wind. This will likely create additional pressure on the MPA network and its designated features. Where offshore wind developments cause unavoidable adverse impacts on protected features, environmental compensation must be secured. To ensure sufficient compensation is available, we are delivering the Offshore Wind Environmental Improvement Package. This will include establishing a Marine Recovery Fund to facilitate the delivery of strategic compensatory measures. These measures should have a greater ecological benefit than smaller-scale measures delivered by individual offshore wind projects.
MPA targets
In 2023, a statutory target was introduced to protect MPAs in England through the Environment Act 2021. This requires at least 70% of designated features in MPAs to be in favourable condition by 2042, with the remainder in recovering condition. Our scientific advisors have assessed the designated features within the MPA network to be at 44% in favourable condition. Defra recognises that the MPA network requires ongoing effective management measures to allow sites to achieve their conservation objectives. Plans to implement these measures are already in progress.
Fisheries byelaws
Currently, 60% of our MPAs are protected by fisheries byelaws. Further steps required to fulfil any management gaps present within the MPA network include consulting on and implementing stages 3 and 4 of the MMO’s offshore fishing byelaw programme (detail below); completion of necessary fisheries management measures for inshore MCZs; implementing management measures for recreational activities where these impact on MPAs; and ongoing management of all activities which require planning consents and a marine licence.
- Stage 3: The MMO held a call for evidence in January to March 2023 for Stage 3 MPAs. This sought additional evidence and views on evidence and analysis of the impacts of fishing on remaining seabed features in 43 English MPAs.
- Stage 4: A call for evidence on stage 4 of the programme, covering highly mobile species (harbour porpoise and marine birds), closed in February 2024. The MMO is analysing the responses received to this latest call for evidence before deciding what measures might need to be consulted on.
A look ahead for Scotland’s MPAs
Fisheries management measures
The focus remains ensuring that the MPA network is effective and well-managed. As a priority this includes ongoing stakeholder engagement and consulting on the introduction of fisheries management measures for MPAs where these are not already in place, alongside those for the 11 Priority Marine Features (PMFs) most at risk from bottom trawling outside MPAs.
Scottish Biodiversity Strategy
These measures will help to support the achievement of Good Environmental Status under the UK Marine Strategy. This work will also help to support achieving the objectives for 2030 contained in the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy; in particular Objective 2 – ‘Protect nature on land and at sea, across and beyond protected areas’, as well as Objective 1 – ‘Accelerate restoration and regeneration’ and Objective 4 – ‘Recover and protect vulnerable and important species’.
Resiliance and adaptation
To deliver specific MPA actions under Objective 2, the Scottish Government will be assessing the MPA network in respect of the resilience of marine biodiversity to climate change, based on a regional assessment by OSPAR. Scottish Government will also be developing and implementing an adaptive management framework for our MPA network by 2028.
Technology and monitoring
To strengthen monitoring and compliance of MPAs in relation to fishing activity, several control measures are being explored. These include increased transmission rates of VMS data, inshore tracking on vessels below 12 metres, remote electronic monitoring on Pelagic vessels, and trials on the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
Further information:
- The Scottish Minister’s report to Parliament can be found online here.
- The report to the UK Parliament can be read here.