Photo by Jannet Serhan

The Scottish Government is investigating after two boats were filmed allegedly scallop dredging in a marine protected area in the north-west Highlands. Footage shows the Dawn Maid and another vessel hauling up gear after being challenged in Loch Alsh, between the Scottish mainland and Skye.

The activity was spotted on Sunday morning by a creel fisherman who reported the scallop dredging had been occurring for many hours. He approached the boats on a RIB to inform the skippers that the area was closed to mobile fishing and had been for the past ten years. One skipper told him he believed fishing was allowed until 1 October.

Protected habitat concerns

The Marine Protected Area covers three deep sea lochs—Loch Alsh, Loch Duich, and Loch Long—and is home to approximately 100 million bright red flame shells, the largest known habitat of this species anywhere in the world. The muddy seabed contains a network of burrowed chambers which host many species that would only normally be found in much deeper waters offshore.

Bally Philp, the creel fisherman who filmed the scallop dredgers, said the local fleet had sacrificed significantly for the marine protected area. “It’s really frustrating because we’ve invested in trying to improve the health of our marine environment and that investment has been undermined by someone outwith our community,” he added.

Boat owner response

One of the boats involved, the Dawn Maid, is part-owned by Mull-based businessman Calum MacLachlainn. The boat’s owner explained that the skippers chose the area after advice from the local fishery officer and left when they realised their mistake.

Monitoring concerns

Environmental group Open Seas argues that the incident demonstrates monitoring of protected waters is not working effectively.

Phil Taylor, Director of Open Seas, added: “Scallop dredging is so damaging that dredge boats use an area, causing enormous damage, and then simply move on from the depleted seabeds. This incident shows that the dredge industry is out of control and measures to establish a sustainable management system for it are not working.”

He said the vessel tracking systems which are meant to monitor fishing activity and alert authorities when incidents occur “appear not to be working.”

Historical context

The MPA has been in place since 2014. In 2017, emergency measures were introduced on nearby Loch Carron after a dredger caused significant damage to a large flame shell reef. The reef had been discovered five years earlier and was estimated to contain approximately 250 million flame shells. Subsequent dives to the seabed revealed extensive damage, though the skipper involved had legally done nothing wrong at the time because the site contained no restrictions.