Report to the Department of Trade and Industry Existing Users and Management Initiatives Relevant to SEA 4 Final Report September 2003 Prepared by Hartley Anderson Limited with Aberdeen Institute of Coastal Science and Management University of Aberdeen SEA 4 Users Report This page is intentionally blank Final Report September 2003 SEA 4 Users Report CONTENTS CONTENTS ................................................................................................................ i 1.1 Introduction ................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Coastal population...................................................................................... 3 1.3 Commercial fishing..................................................................................... 9 1.4 Fisheries for migratory species ............................................................... 17 1.5 Ports and Shipping ................................................................................... 21 1.6 Mariculture................................................................................................. 30 1.7 Oil and gas activity ................................................................................... 42 1.8 Renewable energy..................................................................................... 48 1.9 Military activity .......................................................................................... 52 1.10 Telecommunication cables ................................................................... 55 1.11 Aggregate extraction............................................................................. 57 1.12 Marine disposal...................................................................................... 59 1.13 Tourism and leisure............................................................................... 63 1.14 Coastal and marine archaeology.......................................................... 69 1.15 Locally important activities................................................................... 73 1.16 Overarching coastal and marine management initiatives.................. 75 References.............................................................................................................. 91 Appendix 1: Glossary and Abbreviations ....................................................... A1-1 September 2003 Final Report i SEA 4 Users Report This page is intentionally blank Final Report Page ii September 2003 SEA 4 Users Report 1.1 Introduction The SEA 4 area supports a range of different users and activities. The predominantly rural nature of much of the coast and unspoilt nature of the surrounding coastal waters has lead to the development of an important mariculture industry, especially in Shetland. The fishing industry, whilst in decline, still remains important, both culturally and economically. Similarly, the region has played a central role in the development of the North Sea oil and gas industry over the last 30 years. Tourism is increasingly important with many visitors attracted by the dramatic and spectacular coastal scenery of the area. This report will describe those industries and activities which utilise the SEA 4 area by examining the importance of the area to a variety of industries, the main management issues and initiatives which affect these industries and finally, the relevance of licensing of the SEA 4 area to these industries. This report presents an initial overview of the coastal population of SEA 4 which is followed by descriptions of existing users of the area, including: • Commercial fishing • Fisheries for migratory species • Ports and shipping • Mariculture • Oil and gas activity • Renewable energy • Military activity • Telecommunication cables • Aggregate extraction • Marine disposal sites • Tourism and leisure • Coastal and marine archaeology • Locally important activities The final section of this report, Overarching Coastal and Marine Management Initiatives describes those encompassing initiatives which manage or regulate a number of coastal and marine industries, as well as identifying future initiatives. September 2003 Page 1 Final Report SEA 4 Users Report This page is intentionally blank Final Report Page 2 September 2003 SEA 4 Users Report 1.2 Coastal population 1.2.1 Introduction The vast majority of the SEA 4 coastal region is rural in nature and population density is low with much of the population centred on a few relatively small settlements. In broad socio-economic terms, the SEA 4 area supports a higher proportion of self-employed people than the Scottish average. Fishing is a more important employer in Shetland and Orkney than in the rest of Scotland and agriculture is an important industry on Orkney. The proportion of people involved in skilled trades occupations is significantly higher within the SEA 4 area than in Scotland as a whole. Information relating to the demographics of the SEA 4 area comes largely from the results of the 2001 census which can be accessed through the Scotland's Census 2001 website (http://www.gro- scotland.gov.uk/grosweb/grosweb.nsf/pages/censushm). 1.2.2 Demographics and socio-economics Population The coastal region of SEA 4 does not support a large population; the combined population of Shetland, Orkney, and Caithness and Sutherland was only 60,000 people in 2000/2001 (Table 1.2.1). Since 1991, population migration has seen the populations of Shetland and Orkney decline, in contrast to the general situation in Scotland. The population density of the SEA 4 area is much lower than the general figure for Scotland. Table 1.2.1 – Population in the SEA 4 area Area Density Council area 1991 2001 % Change (km2) (persons/km2) Shetland 22,522 21,988 -2.37 1,466.5 15 Orkney 19,612 19,245 -1.87 990 19 Highland 204,004 208,914 2.41 25,659 8 Caithness and Sutherland1 - 18,3881 - 9421 191 Scotland 4,998,567 5,062,011 1.27 77,924.5 65 Note: 12000 figures (Source: Scottish Coastal Socio-Economic Scoping study (2002)) Coastal settlements The coasts of the SEA 4 region are generally rural in nature with a number of relatively small settlements (Table 1.2.2 and Figure 1.2.1). Of these, Lerwick is home to over 33% of the Shetland population. Similarly, Kirkwall is the major population centre on Orkney, supporting 31% of the islands’ population. Thurso is the largest settlement on the north coast of Scotland. Table 1.2.2 – Major settlements in the SEA 4 area SEA 4 region Settlement Population Shetland Lerwick 7,270 Scalloway 1,140 Sandwick 790 Orkney Kirkwall 6,130 Stromness 1,850 September 2003 Page 3 Final Report SEA 4 Users Report Table 1.2.2 – Major settlements in the SEA 4 area SEA 4 region Settlement Population North coast of Scotland Thurso 7,880 Figure 1.2.1 – Major settlements in the SEA 4 area Socio-economic profile Age structure The age structure of the population within the SEA 4 area is similar to Scotland as a whole (Table 1.2.3). Orkney and the Highlands have a smaller proportion of people aged between 16-30 and the average age of the population is slightly older than for either Shetland or Scotland as a whole. Final Report Page 4 September 2003 SEA 4 Users Report Table 1.2.3 – Age structure of the population in the SEA 4 area, 2001 Percentage of people aged Mean Council area Population 0-16 16-30 30-65 >65 age Shetland 21,988 21.9 18.1 48 14 38 Orkney 19,245 19.9 13.7 49.6 16.7 40 Highland 208,914 19.6 14.6 49.1 16.6 40 Scotland 5,062,011 19.2 17.5 47.4 15.9 38 Economic activity Table 1.2.4 describes the status of those people within the SEA 4 area who are economically active and inactive (refers to those who are retired, students, looking after home/family, permanently sick/disabled). It is clear that there are more self-employed people within the SEA 4 area than Scotland in general. Unemployment is slightly lower in both Shetland and Orkney and there are also fewer economically inactive people. Table 1.2.4 – Economic activity in the SEA 4 area, 2001 Percentage of economically active people aged 16-74 Employees SEA 4 All people Part- Full- Self- Un- Full-time Economically region aged 16-74 time time employed employed student inactive Shetland 15,698 15.1 45.1 10.6 2.4 1.9 24.9 Orkney 13,912 13.7 35.9 16.4 3 1.9 29.1 Highland 152,684 12.9 38.9 10.2 4.3 1.8 31.9 Scotland 3,731,079 11.1 40.3 6.6 4 3 35 Industry of employment In Shetland, the main sources of economic activity are from fisheries (capture and processing), aquaculture (combined fisheries and aquaculture industries valued at £139 million in 1999), and oil- related activities (worth £53.7 million in 1999). The three other key sectors in 1999 were tourism (£14.4 million), agriculture (£11.8 million) and knitwear (£4.9 million). The Orkney economy has had a traditional reliance on agriculture and fishing. However, over the last 20 years there has been a growth in employment in a number of economic sectors including manufacturing and tourism and more recently, food processing. In Caithness and Sutherland, tourism is an important industry, employing over 2,000 people (14% of all employment in the area). Other locally important industries include fishing, construction and the ongoing decommissioning programme for Dounreay. Table 1.2.5 highlights the main industries of employment in the SEA 4 area. It is clear that agriculture employment is more important on Orkney than in other areas of the SEA 4 region, as well as in Scotland. There is also a higher proportion of the working population employed in the fishing industry