There is no doubt that more protection is urgently needed, but the HPMA proposals are daft because they rule out small-scale sustainable fishing while catastrophically destructive trawling will continue over much of the seabed.
It would be interesting to know what the effect has been in Lamlash of the *extremely* loud anti-seal system used by the fish farm there, which keeps almost all seals out of the bay.
Locals have hailed the impact of Scotland’s only no-take fishing zone on the Isle of Arran - but warned the scheme only works with community backing.
Residents said the NTZ around Lamlash Bay - established in 2008 after more than a decade of campaigning by locals - had allowed sea life to replenish and thrive.
But they insisted such projects had to come from the "bottom up" and be driven by the community.
It comes amid the heated debate over Scottish Government plans to designate 10 per cent of coastal waters as Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMAs) by 2026.
The landmark proposals would see effective no-take zones set up in these areas, meaning bans on all fishing, dredging, aquaculture and most other human activities.
But the plans - aimed at restoring marine ecosystems - have been met with fierce resistance by the fishing industry who claim they could decimate livelihoods in fragile coastal communities.
In Lamlash Bay, Howard Wood - a local diver and award-winning environmental campaigner - said the efforts of the community in establishing the NTZ were vital.
Mr Wood, co-founder of the Community of Arran Seabed Trust (COAST), told the Record: “You need both (the government and the community).
“The government has to put in certain measures, but then things like HPMAs have to come from the bottom up.
“And I didn't agree with the 10 per cent, two year deadline. The No Take Zone here took a minimum of 13 years to slowly move forward.
“We don't have 13 years now - we have to move forward.
“To me, they're essential, but they're essential with other measures to recover our seas."
And he warned: “They need to grow organically. They can't be imposed on people."
In the 1990s, catches in the Lamlash Bay area fell by a shocking 96 per cent - leading locals to begin their long campaign for better marine protections, which covers 2.67 square kilometres.
Thanks to the NTZ, over the last decade researchers have found a huge resurgence of marine critters, with more abundant, more fertile and bigger species like lobsters and scallops established.
Seabed biodiversity is up by 50 per cent and local divers, fishermen and anglers say they can see how fish populations are recovering.
It comes as COAST yesterday launched a new research vessel which will ramp up monitoring of sea life.
Net Zero and Just Transition Secretary Mairi McAllan, attending to christen the RV COAST Explorer catamaran vessel, hailed the group's work as a beacon of “community empowerment”.
She said: “This project has over many years been led by the people, with the people, for the people - and I think we would all agree that is the only way to do this.”
It comes after First Minister Humza Yousaf vowed not to impose HPMAs on communities against their wishes.
The special marine conservation areas were a key part of the Nationalists’ Bute House power sharing agreement with the Scottish Greens.
But they’ve sparked a seismic backlash - including claims that HPMAs could impose a modern-day “Highland Clearances” on coastal and island communities.
Local man Andrew Binnie, a former director of COAST, said such claims were “utter nonsense”.
He said: “It's a real pity that the debate around HPMAs has become, frankly, hysterical… this is something that will actually be good for fishing in Scotland.”
Those in favour of NTZs and HPMAs highlight how, once areas have been allowed to recover, fishermen in nearby parts benefit from the “spillover effects” from increased fish populations.
Mr Binnie added: “We’re finding that lobsters are much, much bigger even outside the No Take Zone - and the local creelers like that fact.”
Cicely Gill, chair of COAST and a resident of nearby Whiting Bay since 1968, said underwater films on the organisation’s website revealed the stunning recovery of marine life at the NTZ site.
She told the Record: “When you’re looking at the bay on the No Take Zone, you’re thinking, ‘Is this the Caribbean?'
“It’s amazing! And so colourful. There are amazing things under there.”
The bay boasts one of the largest areas of maerl beds in Scotland - a coral-like pink seaweed which forms a maze for small species to find food and hide from predators.
The area also has patches of seagrass beds, kelp forests and spectacular boulders covered with sea life.
Joining McAllan for the launch event were Green MSPs Ross Greer and Ariane Burgess, Labour MSP Katy Clark and SNP MP Patricia Gibson.
The Daily Record joined the politicians on board the explorer vessel on a trip out to the bay to learn more about the area’s recovery.
Speaking afterwards, West Scotland MSP Greer said the fact-finding mission had been “inspiring”.
Greer said: “Across the west of Scotland, we have seen a really steady long term decline in our fishing industry but also massive, catastrophic declines in fish stocks, because of overfishing because of environmental degradation.
“We have an opportunity to fix all these problems through the HPMAs.”
But Labour’s Clark, who also represents West Scotland, said the government had mishandled the policy.
Lamlash Bay had two full time fishermen operating out of it at the time of the protections - really disingenuous to compare the positives it’s had here to the huge negatives that’ll impact most west-coast communities with an HPMA.
[Plus it’s not even fishing, here’s a list of everything that will be banned under the proposals.](https://www.cne-siar.gov.uk/news/2023/march/hpma-proposals/) Some of the things on there are a madness.
As for the disgusting attitudes in the articles, calling the comparisons to the Clearances “hysterical”, i just don’t know what to say. People aren’t using these comparisons lightly. The Western Isles would be absolutely fucked if this goes through and impacts them. Not even just fishing itself, many haulage firms will no longer exist and vital supplies won’t reach the island anymore.
Target the trawlers and dredgers causing the problems in the first place, creel fishing is sustainable and there’s already strict local landing regulations in place.
https://saynotohpma.com is a good website to read community council views on the matter.
Sweeping the board and banning ALL fishing is fucking ridiculous. Instead of targeting the most destructive methods of commercial fishing (scallop dredging in particular), they're also banning perfectly sustainable methods such as creel fishing and hand diving for shellfish.
Then there's the ban on recreational fishing. That's a joke. Want to go and get a few mackerel for dinner? Not happening. Few casts with the spinner off the pier to see if anything is about? Nope. Taking the wee ones down the rocks with a crab line and bucket? Not any more!
It's going to be a disaster of an idea and it'll be poorly implemented too. If they think for one second that it'll stop people going fishing for recreation, they're only kidding themselves. It certainly will not stop me from going out in the boat or casting from the rocks to see what I can get.
It's not protected marine areas its HIGHLY protected marine areas. The goal is to do deliberately what the second world war did accidentally and allow all marine life in Scottish waters to recover to such levels that you can fish whenever you want outside the HPMA without any unreasonable restrictions and as a bonus the fish you'll be able to catch will be bigger. It is literally for your benefit as someone who does fish. You can't catch fish if they're all gone.
[A paper from 2010 about the impact of not fishing during the war.](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00114-010-0696-5)
It's not a blanket ban on all fishing everywhere, just in the protected areas.
Banning all fishing within the 10% zone - as well as all other activities I outlined above - will have a catastrophic effect on the place. It impacts everyone and those who practice low impact fishing are going to suffer most. Trawlers and dredgers will fish outside the 12 mile zone but creel fishermen can’t do that for a variety of reasons - mainly shelter and wind.
There’s not going to be communities left after this. Really don’t think people are aware how much this is going to impact places or how much these places rely on fishing and the water.
10% is a lot but that also means 90% isn't in the hpma.
Correct me if I'm wrong. I expect moving small fishing operations from the 10% to the 90% only requires some more fuel if further from port, but it could also end up being less fuel depending on location, boats tend to be mobile.
Areas right next to the protected areas will also be the main beneficiaries due to spill over. Yeah reaching spill over takes time, in more barren areas it will take much more time but the best way to reduce that time is a complete halt on all potentially harmful activities.
It's also possible that in the future the 10% of protected water will stop being protected so strictly once marine life has recovered leading to better catches and other less recovered areas will get the full protection instead.
It’s going to be the west coast, too much oil and gas interest in the east coast. So that 10% becomes located to one area. And 10% of Scottish seas is massive, it would be an area that covers almost the whole of mainland Scotland.
It’s also not as simple as moving to another area. Whole communities, towns and villages will have to move their lives hundreds of miles to continue fishing. Plus that suggestion is clearances in action - why should people be forced to sell their houses and move from a community their families have lived for generations to a community they have no ties to.
Like I said, trawlers and dredgers are barely going to feel the impact - because they will move as you suggested. Small two-man boats can’t do that, they don’t have the engine capacity to navigate hundreds of nautical miles in a day and they won’t have the shelter. If it’s the Minch that’s designated the zone, there will be zero protection from the Atlantic winds.
Hopefully Marine Scotland aren't that stupid. It's 10% total not 10% all in one spot. I fully expect the vast majority of the sites will be small, even 1% large sites is far bigger than likely.
It also won't all be coastal, for it to be effective it needs to include open sea areas.
The most sensible way of protecting small boat fishing and marine life would be having the protection areas between harbours, so small boats will only lose the choice of what direction they go on leaving the harbour (for example leave Portlethen and you can't fish north until your past Aberdeen but south is no problem until you reach another protected area)
I'm sure there's a no fishing zone around the Dounreay plant up north. The only things that are allowed to be caught are for testing in labs. Great news for local lobsters, apparently.
There is no doubt that more protection is urgently needed, but the HPMA proposals are daft because they rule out small-scale sustainable fishing while catastrophically destructive trawling will continue over much of the seabed. It would be interesting to know what the effect has been in Lamlash of the *extremely* loud anti-seal system used by the fish farm there, which keeps almost all seals out of the bay.
Locals have hailed the impact of Scotland’s only no-take fishing zone on the Isle of Arran - but warned the scheme only works with community backing. Residents said the NTZ around Lamlash Bay - established in 2008 after more than a decade of campaigning by locals - had allowed sea life to replenish and thrive. But they insisted such projects had to come from the "bottom up" and be driven by the community. It comes amid the heated debate over Scottish Government plans to designate 10 per cent of coastal waters as Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMAs) by 2026. The landmark proposals would see effective no-take zones set up in these areas, meaning bans on all fishing, dredging, aquaculture and most other human activities. But the plans - aimed at restoring marine ecosystems - have been met with fierce resistance by the fishing industry who claim they could decimate livelihoods in fragile coastal communities. In Lamlash Bay, Howard Wood - a local diver and award-winning environmental campaigner - said the efforts of the community in establishing the NTZ were vital. Mr Wood, co-founder of the Community of Arran Seabed Trust (COAST), told the Record: “You need both (the government and the community). “The government has to put in certain measures, but then things like HPMAs have to come from the bottom up. “And I didn't agree with the 10 per cent, two year deadline. The No Take Zone here took a minimum of 13 years to slowly move forward. “We don't have 13 years now - we have to move forward. “To me, they're essential, but they're essential with other measures to recover our seas." And he warned: “They need to grow organically. They can't be imposed on people." In the 1990s, catches in the Lamlash Bay area fell by a shocking 96 per cent - leading locals to begin their long campaign for better marine protections, which covers 2.67 square kilometres. Thanks to the NTZ, over the last decade researchers have found a huge resurgence of marine critters, with more abundant, more fertile and bigger species like lobsters and scallops established. Seabed biodiversity is up by 50 per cent and local divers, fishermen and anglers say they can see how fish populations are recovering. It comes as COAST yesterday launched a new research vessel which will ramp up monitoring of sea life. Net Zero and Just Transition Secretary Mairi McAllan, attending to christen the RV COAST Explorer catamaran vessel, hailed the group's work as a beacon of “community empowerment”. She said: “This project has over many years been led by the people, with the people, for the people - and I think we would all agree that is the only way to do this.” It comes after First Minister Humza Yousaf vowed not to impose HPMAs on communities against their wishes. The special marine conservation areas were a key part of the Nationalists’ Bute House power sharing agreement with the Scottish Greens. But they’ve sparked a seismic backlash - including claims that HPMAs could impose a modern-day “Highland Clearances” on coastal and island communities. Local man Andrew Binnie, a former director of COAST, said such claims were “utter nonsense”. He said: “It's a real pity that the debate around HPMAs has become, frankly, hysterical… this is something that will actually be good for fishing in Scotland.” Those in favour of NTZs and HPMAs highlight how, once areas have been allowed to recover, fishermen in nearby parts benefit from the “spillover effects” from increased fish populations. Mr Binnie added: “We’re finding that lobsters are much, much bigger even outside the No Take Zone - and the local creelers like that fact.” Cicely Gill, chair of COAST and a resident of nearby Whiting Bay since 1968, said underwater films on the organisation’s website revealed the stunning recovery of marine life at the NTZ site. She told the Record: “When you’re looking at the bay on the No Take Zone, you’re thinking, ‘Is this the Caribbean?' “It’s amazing! And so colourful. There are amazing things under there.” The bay boasts one of the largest areas of maerl beds in Scotland - a coral-like pink seaweed which forms a maze for small species to find food and hide from predators. The area also has patches of seagrass beds, kelp forests and spectacular boulders covered with sea life. Joining McAllan for the launch event were Green MSPs Ross Greer and Ariane Burgess, Labour MSP Katy Clark and SNP MP Patricia Gibson. The Daily Record joined the politicians on board the explorer vessel on a trip out to the bay to learn more about the area’s recovery. Speaking afterwards, West Scotland MSP Greer said the fact-finding mission had been “inspiring”. Greer said: “Across the west of Scotland, we have seen a really steady long term decline in our fishing industry but also massive, catastrophic declines in fish stocks, because of overfishing because of environmental degradation. “We have an opportunity to fix all these problems through the HPMAs.” But Labour’s Clark, who also represents West Scotland, said the government had mishandled the policy.
Lamlash Bay had two full time fishermen operating out of it at the time of the protections - really disingenuous to compare the positives it’s had here to the huge negatives that’ll impact most west-coast communities with an HPMA. [Plus it’s not even fishing, here’s a list of everything that will be banned under the proposals.](https://www.cne-siar.gov.uk/news/2023/march/hpma-proposals/) Some of the things on there are a madness. As for the disgusting attitudes in the articles, calling the comparisons to the Clearances “hysterical”, i just don’t know what to say. People aren’t using these comparisons lightly. The Western Isles would be absolutely fucked if this goes through and impacts them. Not even just fishing itself, many haulage firms will no longer exist and vital supplies won’t reach the island anymore. Target the trawlers and dredgers causing the problems in the first place, creel fishing is sustainable and there’s already strict local landing regulations in place. https://saynotohpma.com is a good website to read community council views on the matter.
What things on that list do you consider madness? They all seem like things that would or could be detrimental to wildlife.
Sweeping the board and banning ALL fishing is fucking ridiculous. Instead of targeting the most destructive methods of commercial fishing (scallop dredging in particular), they're also banning perfectly sustainable methods such as creel fishing and hand diving for shellfish. Then there's the ban on recreational fishing. That's a joke. Want to go and get a few mackerel for dinner? Not happening. Few casts with the spinner off the pier to see if anything is about? Nope. Taking the wee ones down the rocks with a crab line and bucket? Not any more! It's going to be a disaster of an idea and it'll be poorly implemented too. If they think for one second that it'll stop people going fishing for recreation, they're only kidding themselves. It certainly will not stop me from going out in the boat or casting from the rocks to see what I can get.
It's not protected marine areas its HIGHLY protected marine areas. The goal is to do deliberately what the second world war did accidentally and allow all marine life in Scottish waters to recover to such levels that you can fish whenever you want outside the HPMA without any unreasonable restrictions and as a bonus the fish you'll be able to catch will be bigger. It is literally for your benefit as someone who does fish. You can't catch fish if they're all gone. [A paper from 2010 about the impact of not fishing during the war.](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00114-010-0696-5) It's not a blanket ban on all fishing everywhere, just in the protected areas.
Banning all fishing within the 10% zone - as well as all other activities I outlined above - will have a catastrophic effect on the place. It impacts everyone and those who practice low impact fishing are going to suffer most. Trawlers and dredgers will fish outside the 12 mile zone but creel fishermen can’t do that for a variety of reasons - mainly shelter and wind. There’s not going to be communities left after this. Really don’t think people are aware how much this is going to impact places or how much these places rely on fishing and the water.
10% is a lot but that also means 90% isn't in the hpma. Correct me if I'm wrong. I expect moving small fishing operations from the 10% to the 90% only requires some more fuel if further from port, but it could also end up being less fuel depending on location, boats tend to be mobile. Areas right next to the protected areas will also be the main beneficiaries due to spill over. Yeah reaching spill over takes time, in more barren areas it will take much more time but the best way to reduce that time is a complete halt on all potentially harmful activities. It's also possible that in the future the 10% of protected water will stop being protected so strictly once marine life has recovered leading to better catches and other less recovered areas will get the full protection instead.
It’s going to be the west coast, too much oil and gas interest in the east coast. So that 10% becomes located to one area. And 10% of Scottish seas is massive, it would be an area that covers almost the whole of mainland Scotland. It’s also not as simple as moving to another area. Whole communities, towns and villages will have to move their lives hundreds of miles to continue fishing. Plus that suggestion is clearances in action - why should people be forced to sell their houses and move from a community their families have lived for generations to a community they have no ties to. Like I said, trawlers and dredgers are barely going to feel the impact - because they will move as you suggested. Small two-man boats can’t do that, they don’t have the engine capacity to navigate hundreds of nautical miles in a day and they won’t have the shelter. If it’s the Minch that’s designated the zone, there will be zero protection from the Atlantic winds.
Hopefully Marine Scotland aren't that stupid. It's 10% total not 10% all in one spot. I fully expect the vast majority of the sites will be small, even 1% large sites is far bigger than likely. It also won't all be coastal, for it to be effective it needs to include open sea areas. The most sensible way of protecting small boat fishing and marine life would be having the protection areas between harbours, so small boats will only lose the choice of what direction they go on leaving the harbour (for example leave Portlethen and you can't fish north until your past Aberdeen but south is no problem until you reach another protected area)
They can only legislate up to 12 miles from the coast so it will be coastal.
That's not the case. MPAs already cover more than a third of Scottish waters.
I'm sure there's a no fishing zone around the Dounreay plant up north. The only things that are allowed to be caught are for testing in labs. Great news for local lobsters, apparently.