South Arran MPA update …
As most people on Arran will already be aware the South Arran Marine Protected Area was designated in July 2014 following COAST’s MPA proposal submitted in May 2012. The proposal took many months to prepare and had support from SNH and Marine Scotland, as well as many other organisations and individuals. However, most importantly, the MPA is very unlikely to have been proposed or designated had it not been for the enthusiasm and dedication of the people of Arran. The South Arran Marine Protected Area is a truly community-lead project, for which we should all be justifiably proud.
There is still much to be done. Since designation we have been campaigning hard, with the continued support of many people here and further afield to ensure that effective management is put in place for the Arran MPA and Scottish MPA network. The Scottish Government’s recently published Marine Conservation Order, which will bring in legally binding management for the whole of the South Arran MPA, while not perfect, is an improvement on previous proposals and will prohibit scallop dredging within the entire MPA. It will still allow trawling in three outer areas of the MPA, however, something COAST is opposed to. COAST has made representations to the Scottish Government giving our support for the measures in so far as they go, but stressing we will continue to campaign for a complete exclusion of all bottom active gear within the MPA. Creeling (except for in four defined areas of maerl and seagrass), sea angling and scallop diving will all continue within the MPA outside the No Take Zone, as will yachting, kayaking and other marine leisure activities. COAST believes the MPA has the potential to deliver real environmental benefits, as well as social and economic benefits to Arran and the wider Clyde.
The battle is not yet won. Richard Lochhead the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment is currently under a lot of pressure from some members of the mobile fishing sector to water down his proposals. Some very emotive and misleading language is being used to scaremonger communities. The proposals are actually pretty modest and will impact less than 2% of mobile and dredger gross income (assuming they do make this up by simply fishing elsewhere, which of course they can and will do). In fact, Scotland’s MPAs will only go a little way towards recovering our badly damaged inshore fish spawning grounds and sea bed nurseries which are so vital to fish stocks. It is important, then, that we support the broad sweep of the measures and make sure our elected representatives know we are holding them to account. Please write to your MSPs and our MP. The south Arran MPA and wider MPA network is an opportunity that we need to grasp and cherish. Like the existing No Take Zone it has the power to show things can be done differently and in ways that benefit all stakeholders and future generations.
