MPA and PMF Management Measures for Fishing Activity

Why do we need management measures for fishing activity?

MPAs

Marine Protected Areas are an effective and internationally recognised tool for protecting marine wildlife. Some of the proposed management measures have been designed to protect sensitive habitats that act as nursery areas for commercial species, helping to sageguard sustainable fishing. Evidence from MPAs around the world shows that sites prohibiting fishing activities can have more invertebrates and greater fish biomass compared to fished areas outside MPAs, with evidence of significant spill-over into areas near to MPAs. In Scotland, there is evidence that management of fishing activity can have positive changes for species such as skate, scallop and lobster, and for seabed habitats.

Under the principles of sustainable use, some activities may continue to operate within the MPA, as long as they do not compromise the achievement of the conservation objectives for the protected features. Most activities are regulated through existing licensing and consenting processes, e.g. aquaculture and renewables, or codes of good practice. This means that plans or projects which are part of these processes would be subject to assessment and consideration of their impacts on an MPA or PMF. Fishing activities do not have an equivalent process, instead they are managed through spatial or temporal measures, which is the focus of this consultation.  

PMFs

There are 81 Priority Marine Features (PMFs) identified in the seas around Scotland. PMFs are a prioritised list of habitats and species of conservation importance in Scotland’s seas and include a wide range of characteristic Scottish wildlife. The PMF list is used to help focus conservation action and decision making in marine planning.

In 2018 Scottish Ministers launched a public consultation on Improving protection given to Priority Marine Features outside the Marine Protected Area network, to ensure that PMFs are being protected in accordance with the National Marine Plan - which states that “development and use of the marine environment must not result in significant impact on the national status of Priority Marine Features”.  A prioritisation process was undertaken by Scottish Government and NatureScot, which identified 11 PMFs which are most sensitive to physical disturbance from bottom-contacting mobile fishing gear.

Our PMF advice documents provide information on the distribution, ecology, status and sensitivity of the 11 most sensitive PMFs to bottom-contacting mobile fishing activity, along with existing and proposed fisheries measures providing PMF protection and our recommendations on additional key locations for protection. These documents are available on our Advice page.