Overwhelming response in favour of Scottish Marine Protected Areas
COAST hold the Government and politicians to account for their management of Scotland's seas in the COAST February 2014 Newsletter . The scientific consensus is that bottom dredging & trawling methods are destructive & unsustainable. Scotland's people deserve healthy and productive seas which genuinely support all coastal communities. We need the Government to act NOW and establish Scottish MPAs as a first step towards improving the health and productivity of our seas.
Over 1300 South Arran MPA responses from individuals, clubs, businesses and charities from around Arran and the rest of the UK were received by COAST.
Our synthetic seas
Recent storms show just how much plastic is in the Clyde. Arran residents are beginning to clean up here but the film links in our newsletter illustrate this is a world-wide catastrophe we can't ignore.
Read all these stories and more in the:
COAST is recognised as one of the UK’s leading community marine conservation organisations and enjoys widespread support on Arran and nationally. We work to ensure shared responsibility for the protection and restoration of the marine environment around Arran and the Firth of Clyde and the diversity of life these waters support.
COAST's position differs from SNH's management options.
COAST recommends: Only sustainable methods such as creeling, hand diving for scallops and angling should be allowed inside the MPA. All active / towed gear (trawls, dredged and hydraulic methods) should be excluded from the entire proposed South Arran MPA. This will allow regeneration of the seabed and increase the social and economic benifit to the Clyde.
Current SNH management options recommend: Only excluding trawling and dredging from some parts of the proposed MPA (avoiding certain habitats). This would allow damaging trawling to continue within the MPA resulting in 'patch' or 'relic' management in COAST's view. Final management options will be put forward by Marine Scotland for Richard Lochhead's approval.