Community of Arran Seabed Trust

COAST's vision is for healthy seas around Arran and in the Clyde. The purpose is to ensure shared responsibility for the protection and restoration of the marine environment and the diversity of life it supports in this area.[3]

The Firth of Clyde in South West Scotland, an area of 3650 square miles, is the most southerly fjord in the northern hemisphere and extends over 100 km into Scotland's west coast. Once comprising a highly diverse and rich ecosystem the Firth of Clyde marine environment has seen dramatic alterations throughout the last 200 years.[4] During the 19th century, diverse mixed fisheries existed in the Firth of Clyde for herring (Clupea harengus), cod (Gadus morhua), haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus), turbot (Psetta maxima) and a variety of other species.[4][5]

The 19th century saw increased demand for fish, which encouraged more indiscriminate methods of fishing such as bottom trawling to also catch demersal fish (fish living and feeding mainly on the seabed). During the 1880s, fish landings began to decline, and upon the recommendation of local fishers and scientists, the Firth of Clyde was closed to large trawling vessels in 1889. This closure remained in place until 1962 when bottom trawling for Norway lobster (Nephrops norvegicus) was approved in areas more than three nautical miles (nm) from the coast. During the 1960s and 1970s, landings of bottomfish increased as trawling intensified. The trawl closure within three nm of the coast was repealed in 1984 under pressure from the industry. Thereafter, bottomfish landings went into terminal decline, with all species collapsing to zero or near zero landings by the early 21st century. Herring fisheries collapsed in the 1970s as more efficient mid-water trawls and fish finders were introduced.

Between the 1960s and the early 2000s populations of cod and haddock have dropped by 95 - 99%.[5] A population is termed 'collapsed' if there is a decline of over 90% from the peak catch. This collapse of commercial populations in the Clyde is often compared to the similar collapse of cod fishing in Newfoundland in the 1990s due to intense overfishing.[5] Today there is now no viable fishery of those species. Instead invertebrate species are targeted, such as the Norway lobster and scallops (Pecten maximus). For this usually otter trawls and dredges are used, which are dragged along the seabed to disturb bottom-dwelling fish, a practice which damages seabed habitats.[4][5]

In July 2011, a paper was published indicating a major ecological impact of fishing on the ecosystems of the Clyde. Fishing is thought to have completely altered the mix and size distribution of fish species in the Clyde. Once dominated by large predatory species (e.g. spurdog, hake and cod), now 70% of species found are small whiting and other small fish.[6] Such a simplification of the ecosystem can possibly lead to a decline in diversity, thus threatening fish stocks and fishery of the future.[7] A report by Marine Scotland suggests that these changes might have been, amongst others, caused by high by-catch rates found in Nephrops fisheries using trawling and dredging equipment.[4] The habitat destruction caused by these methods is also thought to be a major factor influencing species composition and size.[5] Other scientists have concluded that the marine ecosystems in the Clyde are nearing the endpoint of overfishing[5] but, as the Clyde used to be a highly productive system, there is potential for recovery if appropriate measures are taken.[4]

In partnership with a wide range of stakeholders, the Scottish Government announced the Clyde 2020 initiative, which will involve research and practical measures to improve the Firth of Clyde marine ecosystem. In April 2014, the Clyde summit was held, where a wide range of stakeholders were brought together to determine the focus of and develop an action plan for the initiative.[8]

View of the No Take Zone in Lamlash Bay and information board

Scotland's first No Take Zone (NTZ) was designated by the Scottish Government on 20 September 2008 at the north end of Lamlash Bay on the east of the Isle of Arran, after 13 years of campaigning by COAST. It was established to protect Maerl beds and to promote natural regeneration of all marine life. It covers an area of 2.67 km² of sea and seabed from which no marine life can be removed by any method. This was achieved after over a decade of campaigning by the island community.[1]

Maerl

Maerl, a corraline algae

A significant marine feature in the Lamlash bay NTZ are the Maerl beds. Maerl is also present in the South Arran MPA. Maerl is a very slow-growing (1 mm per year) coral-like calcareous red algae and is an important Scottish species.[13] Maerl beds are reservoirs of biodiversity, important both as nursery grounds for young scallops and young fish. Studies show that organic waste from fish farms significantly reduces live maerl and that scallop dredging has profound and long lasting impacts. Scallop dredging on a maerl bed has been found to kill over 70% of live maerl, with no discernible recovery over the following four years. Recovery of maerl beds would be expected to require many years without disturbance.[14]

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are geographically defined marine zones, used as a management tool used to protect the marine environment. MPAs are recognised as a specific means to achieve 'good environmental status' in the marine environment. In 2011 Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) proposed a network of 33 MPAs for designation to the Scottish government. As of July 2014, 30 MPAs were designated; 17 of which are in Scotlands inshore zone (within 12 nm), and 13 are offshore.[15]

The United Kingdom has a duty to create an ecologically coherent network of marine protected areas by 2012, as promised under several agreements including the OSPAR Convention, World Summit on Sustainable Development, Convention on Biological Diversity,[16] Water Framework Directive and most recently the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). The European MSFD was transposed into UK legislation on 15 July 2010 and requires member states to prepare national strategies to manage their seas to achieve or maintain Good Environmental Status by 2020.[17] In Annex I, 11 qualitative descriptors were set up to determine 'good environmental status'. Amongst others, they require the maintenance of biological diversity (descriptor 1), populations of all commercially exploited fish and shellfish to be within safe biological limits exhibiting a population age and size distribution that is indicative of a healthy stock (descriptor 3) and to ensure that sea-floor integrity is at a level that ensures that the structure and functions of the ecosystems are safeguarded and benthic ecosystems, in particular, are not adversely affected (descriptor 6).

The Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 provides executive devolution to Scottish Ministers of the new marine planning and conservation powers in the offshore region (12-200 nautical miles) of Scotland and in particular, the power to designate MPAs. This will provide greater flexibility for Ministers to use area-based measures to conserve marine biodiversity.[18] Marine Protected Areas are essential for healthy, functioning and resilient ecosystems which help to deliver the Government's vision of a clean, healthy, safe, productive and biologically diverse oceans and seas. As some human activities can damage or cause disturbance to marine habitats and their species, a MPA is designed to manage or restrict such activities.

Case studies from Scottish waters support the general scientific consensus that use of mobile fishing gear, particularly bottom-trawls and dredges, is the most pervasive form of human disturbance to the seabed environment and the most significant cause of ecosystem degradation in coastal seas. Other processes, such as discharge of organic waste and water-borne chemical contaminants can be locally important, but are of much lower overall impact than the use of mobile fishing gear.[14]

In 2012 COAST submitted their proposal to Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) for a designated Marine Protected Area (MPA) around the South of Arran under the Marine Scotland Act 2010. On 24 July 2014 the South Arran MPA was created. Though management measures are still to be determined, COAST is advocating 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 benefit to the Clyde. COAST recommends that only sustainable methods such as creeling, hand diving for scallops and angling should be allowed inside the MPA. Currently, the management for the South Arran MPA has not been designated and all activities in the area are continuing as normal. Marine Scotland has proposed options which allow for the continuation of trawling and dredging in the MPA.[19]

The South of Arran MPA will:

• Promote sustainable fishing such as creeling, hand diving and sea angling
• Create an area protected from bottom trawling and dredging
• Protect important habitats and fish nursery grounds
• Effectively reinstate part of the three-mile limit around South Arran that was stopped in 1984.

The MPA will not:

• Be a no take zone
• Stop anyone from sea angling, yachting, diving, kayaking or swimming in the area

• ArranCOAST
• MSC UK
• UK Marine Protected Areas Centre
• SeaSearch
• Lundy No Take Zone
• Esmée Fairbairn Foundation
• Scottish National Heritage Trust