Our Seas Coalition - Protecting Marine Ecosystems

On Thursday, I met the Our Seas Coalition at their Coastal Testimonies Exhibition in the Scottish Parliament.

The Coalition comprises more than 130 organisations and advocates for reinstating a modern equivalent of Scotland’s historic three-mile fishing limit.

This limit, in place from 1886 to 1984, protected vital inshore ecosystems by banning destructive practices like bottom trawling and scallop dredging.

Its removal led to large declines in fish stocks, seabed habitats, and costal employment .

Reintroducing this limit would help restore marine biodiversity, help to rebuild fisheries, and provide greater long-term economic benefits.

Research by Marine Scotland found that reinstating the three-mile limit could increase the Gross Value Added from the Nephrops fishery by £8 million and create new jobs.

A recent Survation poll of over 2,000 Scots found that 56% back banning trawling and dredging within three nautical miles of the shore, with only 11% opposed.

Over 8,200 people across Scotland have signed a petition calling for the limit’s reinstatement.

While the SNP Government has committed to capping fishing activity in the inshore zone, decisive action is still needed to implement a full ban on bottom trawling and scallop dredging.

Reinstating the limit is not unprecedented. Many countries, including Norway and parts of England, have similar coastal protections in place.

Pictured with me is Arran’s Nick Underdown.