Photo by Ramon Vloon
Scotland’s £16 million Marine Fund has reopened for applications, with Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon announcing the expanded scheme during a visit to Dunbar harbour. But the launch has been met with immediate criticism from conservation and coastal community groups who warn that the fund’s eligibility criteria are too narrowly drawn to benefit the communities it claims to serve.
The fund, now in its fifth year, supports projects across fishing, processing and coastal development. Since 2021, it has awarded more than £69 million to 390 projects, facilitating a total of £121 million of investment nationwide. Last year, 60 projects received grants ranging from around £2,000 to £1.7 million.
Gougeon said: “We are continuing to back Scotland’s marine economy, which is crucial to the economic, social and cultural fabric of our rural, coastal and island communities.”
She also used the announcement to renew her attack on the UK Government’s allocation of fisheries funding, describing as “unjust” the decision to allocate Scotland just 7.78% of the £360 million Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund — contrasting it with the 46% share Scotland received when part of the EU.
Critics challenge the fund’s scope
Marine conservation charity Open Seas raised concerns about the fund’s eligibility criteria, warning that the rules stipulate any reference to community economic development “must be read and understood as concerning an area or areas in which commercial fish or aquaculture activities are carried out or a community within such an area.”
Phil Taylor, director of Open Seas, said: “We welcome funding to make fishing more sustainable, but at present it is clear that the grant criteria ignores the wider interests of coastal communities around Scotland, many of which are under huge economic and social pressure. By only allowing funding to go to communities where fishing and aquaculture industries are present, ministers risk leaving those reliant on other sectors behind, while doubling down on ocean harms.”
Taylor also raised concerns about past funding decisions, noting that previous rounds had supported bottom-trawling and dredging — “despite the damage these industries do to the health of the sea.”
Sarah Doherty, Coastal Communities Network Coordinator, added: “Scotland’s seas really are in dire straits, and public funding must reflect this reality. When investing in our seas, communities and nature cannot be an afterthought.”
Alan Munro, Director at Young Sea Changers Scotland, argued that broadening the fund’s scope would unlock new economic opportunities: “Young people are increasingly looking to work in areas like habitat restoration and nature-based industries that strengthen coastal economies while protecting the environment. Expanding this fund to include other sectors would help deliver the sustainable future Scotland is aiming for, rather than simply contribute to the growth of a couple of sectors.”