Marine Scotland 2014 Consultation on the management of inshore Special Areas of Conservation and Marine Protected Areas Consultation Report Marine Scotland 2014 Consultation on the management of inshore Special Areas of Conservation and Marine Protected Areas Consultation Report The Scottish Government, Edinburgh 2015 © Crown copyright 2015 This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-gov- ernment-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Ar- chives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: [email protected]. Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to ob- tain permission from the copyright holders concerned. This publication is available at www.gov.scot Any enquiries regarding this publication should be sent to us at The Scottish Government St Andrew’s House Edinburgh EH1 3DG ISBN: 978-1-78544-489-0 Published by The Scottish Government, June 2015 Produced for The Scottish Government by APS Group Scotland, 21 Tennant Street, Edinburgh EH6 5NA PPDAS50180 (06/15) Contents Contents ...................................................................................................................... i List of Tables ..............................................................................................................vi List of Figures .............................................................................................................vi 1. Ministerial Foreword ............................................................................................ 1 2. Acknowledgements.............................................................................................. 2 3. Executive Summary ............................................................................................. 3 3.1. Background overview .................................................................................... 3 3.2. Overview of Respondents ............................................................................. 3 3.3. Overview of Analysis ..................................................................................... 3 3.4. Overview of Responses & Government Position ........................................... 4 4. Introduction ........................................................................................................ 12 4.1. The Consultation ......................................................................................... 12 4.2. Background ................................................................................................. 12 4.3. Responses .................................................................................................. 13 4.4. Respondent Profile ...................................................................................... 13 4.5. Analysis and Reporting ............................................................................... 14 5. Non-Standard Responses ................................................................................. 16 5.1. Scottish Environment LINK ......................................................................... 16 5.2. Sunnyside Ocean Defenders ...................................................................... 18 6. Broad Issues ...................................................................................................... 19 6.1. Article 6 of The EU Habitats Directive ......................................................... 19 6.2. Section 83 of The Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 ............................................ 21 6.3. The Environmental Report .......................................................................... 22 6.4. Creel Fishing ............................................................................................... 22 6.5. Benefits ....................................................................................................... 23 7. East Mingulay SAC ............................................................................................ 25 7.1. Introduction ................................................................................................. 25 7.2. We Asked .................................................................................................... 25 7.3. You Said...................................................................................................... 25 7.4. We Did ........................................................................................................ 29 8. Loch Creran MPA /SAC ..................................................................................... 30 8.1. Introduction ................................................................................................. 30 i 8.2. We Asked .................................................................................................... 30 8.3. You Said...................................................................................................... 30 8.4. We Did ........................................................................................................ 34 9. Loch Laxford SAC.............................................................................................. 36 9.1. Introduction ................................................................................................. 36 9.2. We Asked .................................................................................................... 36 9.3. You Said...................................................................................................... 36 9.4. We Did ........................................................................................................ 38 10. Loch Sunart to Sound Of Jura MPA ............................................................... 39 10.1. Introduction .............................................................................................. 39 10.2. We Asked ................................................................................................ 39 10.3. You Said .................................................................................................. 39 10.4. We Did ..................................................................................................... 44 11. Loch Sween MPA ........................................................................................... 45 11.1. Introduction .............................................................................................. 45 11.2. We Asked ................................................................................................ 45 11.3. You Said .................................................................................................. 45 11.4. We Did ..................................................................................................... 48 12. Lochs Duich, Long & Alsh MPA /SAC ............................................................ 50 12.1. Introduction .............................................................................................. 50 12.2. We Asked ................................................................................................ 50 12.3. You Said .................................................................................................. 50 12.4. We Did ..................................................................................................... 53 13. Luce Bay SAC ................................................................................................ 54 13.1. Introduction .............................................................................................. 54 13.2. We Asked ................................................................................................ 54 13.3. You Said .................................................................................................. 54 13.4. We Did ..................................................................................................... 58 14. Noss Head MPA ............................................................................................. 59 14.1. Introduction .............................................................................................. 59 14.2. We Asked ................................................................................................ 59 14.3. You Said .................................................................................................. 59 14.4. We Did ..................................................................................................... 61 ii 15. Sanday SAC ................................................................................................... 62 15.1. Introduction .............................................................................................. 62 15.2. We Asked ................................................................................................ 62 15.3. You Said .................................................................................................. 62 15.4. We Did ..................................................................................................... 64 16. Small Isles MPA ............................................................................................. 65 16.1. Introduction .............................................................................................. 65 16.2. We Asked ...............................................................................................