Scottish government ditches plan to establish highly protected marine areas

The Scottish government has officially confirmed it is abandoning a proposal to create highly protected marine areas (HPMAs), a decision being celebrated by the country's salmon-farming sector.

Scotland was considering a proposal to establish 10 percent of the country’s seas as HPMAs by 2026. An HPMA, if established, would have placed strict limits on all human activity in the area – with fishing and aquaculture among the banned activities.

Scotland’s seafood sector has been urging the government to abandon a proposal for HPMAS for months, arguing that there’s little evidence that they accomplish their proponents' goals.

“We support proposals that can improve Scotland’s marine environment. Scotland’s reputation for the very best farm-raised and wild-caught seafood depends on the seas around our coastline. However banning responsible sea use is not the answer,” Salmon Scotland Chief Executive Tavish Scott said in April 2023.

The Scottish government consulted on the proposal from 12 December 2022 through 17 April 2023 before promising to publish a full response “later in 2023.” On 7 November, it confirmed its response would be to scrap its plan to establish HPMAs. 

According to the Scottish government, 4,502 individual responses came in to the HPMA proposal, with 2,458 “substantive responses” and 2,044 coming as “coordinated” responses as part of a campaign. The government described all of the responses as “highly polarized” with either full opposition or full support of the issue.

After analyzing the responses, the government decided it will no longer seek to establish HPMAs across 10 percent off the Scottish coastline, a decision presaged in July 2023 by Scotland Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Net Zero, and Just Transition Màiri McAllan.

“In response to the findings of the consultation, and as I set out in parliament earlier this year, the proposal to implement HPMAs across 10 percent of Scotland’s seas by 2026 will not be progressed,” Scotland Net Zero Secretary Mairi McAllan said in a statement.

Scott said the confirmation is “a huge relief for salmon farmers” and others who rely on the seafood sector.

“I am grateful to all the MSPs who spoke up in support of our sector and rural Scotland,” Scott said. “We once again commit to working with the Scottish government to develop workable proposals that safeguard both livelihoods and the marine environment on which they rely.”

The Scottish government said despite firm opposition to the HPMA plan, there was still clear support for protecting and conserving the marine environment. 

“The Scottish government will instead continue to work to enhance marine protection in line with our draft biodiversity strategy ambition for Scotland to be nature-positive by 2030 and will recognize the E.U. Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 targets over the same timescale,” it said. “A key learning outcome emphasized by this consultation is the importance of stakeholder and community input. [Citizen] feedback will form part of our ongoing dialogue ... on how we work together to enhance marine protection.”  

Photo courtesy of Scalmon Scotland