Scotland’s Plan to Ban Commercial Fishing Stirs Anger

Fishing boats moored in Eyemouth Harbour, Scottish Borders, on Jan. 19, 2021. (PA media)

Humza Yousaf’s ruling SNP party faces anger and rebellion over a flagship environmental policy that could see all fishing banned in 10 percent of Scotland’s seas.

There has been concern and outcry from various groups, including the fishing industry in rural areas, opposition politicians, and MPs within the SNP, in response to a plan to establish highly protected marine areas (HPMAs) covering at least 10 percent of Scotland’s waters.

On Wednesday, former SNP rural economy and tourism secretary Fergus Ewing ripped up a new fisheries protection plan in the Scottish Parliament saying it was a “notice of execution” for the industry.

Under the proposal, commercial and recreational fishing would be banned in the zones that extend up to 12 nautical miles from the coast and would also place strict limits on infrastructure construction. No sites have yet been publicly identified.

About 37 percent of Scotland’s seas are already included in Scotland’s Marine Protected Areas network.

Scotland’s First Minister Humza Yousaf and Deputy First Minister Shona Robison (right) arrive for First Minister's Questions (FMQs) in the main chamber of the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, on April 20, 2023. (Jane Barlow/PA Media)

HPMAs

The policy is a consequence of the power-sharing deal between the SNP and Greens, known as the Bute House Agreement.

“These sites will provide high levels of protection by placing strict limits on some human activities, such as fishing and aquaculture, while allowing non-damaging recreational activities to take place at carefully managed levels,” it said.

In a statement on Tuesday, Scottish Greens coastal communities spokesperson Ariane Burgess called the areas “no-take zones for fish.”

“There is no hiding place from the climate crisis, there is no place around these isles that are immune from change,” she said.

“That is something many people involved in this debate either fail to grasp, or deliberately choose to ignore in the hope of landing a few more votes, be it through theatrics in the chamber, or soundbites in the radio,” she added.

A coalition of environmental groups recently welcomed HPMAs and pointed out that since 2010, one non-HPMA protected area in Lamlash Bay, Isle of Arran, has shown a “dramatic ecological improvement.”

“Measured biodiversity has increased by 50 percent, while the populations of commercially important species are two to three times higher within the no-take zone,” it said.

According to 2022 UK fisheries statistics (pdf), in 2020, just under 70 percent of economic output from the UK fishing and aquaculture industry was generated in Scotland.

Scottish government Minister and Scottish Green Party Co-Leader Patrick Harvie (left) and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon speaking at a press conference in Bute House in Edinburgh, on June 14, 2022. (Russell Cheyne/PA)

‘Devastate’ Rural Areas

The First Minister and Net Zero Secretary Mairi McAllan have said such zones will not be forced on communities that do not want them.

During First Minister’s Questions on Thursday, Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross said plans would “devastate” rural areas and asked Yousaf to define a community and how can avoid becoming part of an HPMA.

“Can he define what he means in this case by community and what level of opposition would be considered ‘vehemently opposed?'” said Ross.

“What we’ve made absolutely clear is that this Government will not impose HPMAs on any community that vehemently opposes them,” said Yousaf.

“We’ve done the consultation, it’s had a significant response, it’s only right we now analyse those responses and while doing so Mairi McAllan has committed, and I will commit also, that we engage with our coastal and island communities that may well be affected by HPMAs,” he added.

After tearing up the government consultation during a Holyrood debate, Ewing said: “The only mention of fishermen says that what they do is destructive. What an incredible act of provocation that is.”

“This will haunt the Scottish Government, this issue, this will not go away. This is not a consultation document, it’s a notice of execution,” he added.

As a result, the “anger is palpable” he said.

Ewing said that he feared fishing communities were “losing confidence in the party I’ve served for nearly 50 years.”

MacPhail, a creel fisherman and musician who lives in Barra in the Outer Hebrides, told STV News, that if the plans are rolled out they will be “devastating.”

“These areas, if they’re designated, will be absolutely devastating and you’ll see a loss of population in these areas akin to the Highland Clearances of the mid-1800s, and that’s no exaggeration,” he said.

The Highland Clearances, which took place from the mid-to-late 18th century to the mid-19th century, involved the forced eviction of inhabitants from the Highlands and western islands of Scotland to make way for sheep farming, resulting in the destruction of traditional clan society.

UN

In March, the UK government announced that three HPMAs will be designated in England by July 2023.

There are intergovernmental policies that the UK has signed up to, which say that HPMAs give “nature the best chance to thrive.”

The Global Ocean Alliance (GOA) is a 73-country alliance, led by the UK, to classify 30 percent of the national maritime space as marine protected areas (MPAs) by 2030, to meet the objectives set out in the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

There is also a similar UN plan to turn 30 percent of the earth into protected areas by 2030.

However, NGOs estimated that the new target could displace or dispossess as many as 300 million people and lead to severe human rights violations, causing “irreversible social harm for some of the world’s poorest people.”

PA Media contributed to this report.