Ruth Murtagh examines the debate around the need for legislation to govern our seas
The sea is a complex and multifaceted resource. So fundamental to our needs and affording so many diverse uses, its enormous value is easily taken for granted; and not least by governments. Like the sea’s physical character, its uses are fluid and seemingly infinite. From economic staples such as oil and
gas and fishing to shipping and military to nature conservation, recreation and tourism, the sea means a multitude of different things to different people.
It covers almost the entire spectrum of human need – economic, environmental,social, cultural and even physical.
But with so many diverse players reliant on the sea for such immensely distinct purposes, the question of ‘who governs’ is an obvious one. Is any one body responsible for managing this vast and invaluable resource, for protecting its environment and maintaining order amidst competing users? What must be added to the equation is the fact that it is a public resource subject to domestic, EU and international legal obligations, management of the sea, therefore, is no simple task.
After sustained environmental lobbying and growing awareness of the sea’s economic value, political interest in the issue of marine governance has gradually developed in Scotland and finally concrete action appears to be if not under way, then imminent. Making good on their manifesto commitments, the new SNP Government has now put the wheels irreversibly in motion for a Marine Bill for Scotland.
In few countries does the sea occupy a more prominent place in the economy, society, culture, the national image and the national psyche than in Scotland. It boasts over 11,000 kilometres of coastline, 60 per cent of the UK coastline and 10 per cent of Europe's coastline. With about a fifth of Scotland’s population living within 1 kilometre of the sea and about 70 per cent within 10 kilometres, it is a dominant feature of Scottish life.
Economically, the sea underlies enormous employment and generates massive revenue for Scotland. Fishing and aquaculture generate some 16,000 jobs with a landing value of £300m from Scottish boats. The oil and gas industry in Scotland supports 164,000 jobs directly while our ports handle about 110 million tonnes of cargo every year, providing a key gateway for goods and people into the country. There is also a huge potential for a marine renewables energy market from wave and tidal power in Scotland, which the SNP Government seems eager to harness. Furthermore, over half a million people a year visit historic Scotland’s coastal and island properties, generating about £2.5m. So considering the sea’s enormous economic value, this Bill is not motivated solely by environmental conservation or a duty of care – but also by sheer economic realism.
Providing such an abundance of natural resources, Scotland’s seas are amongst the most biologically productive in the world. Added to the economic value is the inherent ecological value this bestows on Scotland. Its waters are home to over 40,000 species including 8,000 species of plants, invertebrates, fish, birds and mammals. In 1996 marine wildlife tourism generated revenues of £57m and supported 2,670 jobs in Scotland.
So with Scotland’s seas in such an apparently productive and profitable state, what is the urgency for a Marine Bill? And why is it so important now at this point in time? Crucial to all the uses of the sea and their continued profitability is the quality of the marine environment. In that sense, one of the key driving forces behind the Bill is sustainability and the insurance of finite marine resources for the future. It is vital to keep the sea’s health in check. With so many distinct uses, often in the same location, competition and even conflict between different users is inevitable, such as between the commercial fishing and oil and gas industries. efficient regulation is needed to mediate between sectoral interests and minimise this conflict.
To add to this, pressures on the sea’s environment in the last decade have multiplied with increased usage, plus the effects of human activity and climate change
pressures on the sea’s environment in the last decade have multiplied with increased usage, plus the effects of human activity and climate change 
.According to a new report by the Marine Climate Change Impacts Partnership, climate change is having a significant effect on our waters, with 2006 recorded as the warmest year for UK coastal waters since records began in 1870. This can have damaging consequences on the marine environment including loss of habitats with resulting harm to tourism and coast based leisure activities.
The culmination of these factors has finally prompted a political initiative to be taken in Scotland. Before the 2007 elections, one of the SNP’s key environmental commitments was to introduce a Marine Bill. While some action had been initiated by the previous executive, including producing a marine strategy in 2005 and establishing an Advisory Group on Marine and Coastal Strategy (AGMACS) to consider new marine legislation, in June the SNP Government announced plans to introduce Scotland’s first Marine Bill. Cabinet Secretary for the Environment and Rural Affairs, Richard Lochhead proudly presented the plan saying: “The case for integrated legislation for Scotland’s marine environment has been made. It’s time to rise to the challenge of managing our seas in a manner fit for the 21st century, for the benefit of Scotland’s people, Scotland’s communities and for Scotland’s generations to come.”
One of the key drives pushing the Bill forward is the growing recognition that marine legislation in Scotland is wholly inadequate. eighty-five pieces of legislation and 13 UK and Scottish departments currently govern the marine environment in Scotland. This results in regulation that is piecemeal rather than comprehensive and management that is sectoral rather than integrated. The excessively cluttered legislative landscape needs to be co-ordinated,
streamlined and simplified.
Unlike many environmental policy issues, the planned Bill has received considerable media coverage and commanded a relatively high profile. This has been aided by The Scotsman’s ‘Save Our Seas’ campaign, started last October, plus strong lobbying by environmental organisations such as Scottish environment LINK. At the start of the year the Scottish Government picked up the momentum once again by announcing the creation of a Sustainable Seas Task Force to consider proposals for a Scottish Marine Bill and take the plans forward. The 26-member body includes environmental and marine industry bodies and will succeed the AGMACS formed by the previous executive. The Task Force is due to meet for the first time in January and the last time in April, after which ministers are to launch a consultation on the Marine Bill.
On announcing plans for a Marine Bill, Richard Lochhead said the Bill would be guided primarily by the findings of two reports published in March 2007 - the Scottish Parliament’s Environment and Rural Development Committee’s Inquiry into the Marine environment and an AGMACS report. Considerable consensus exists between the two reports’ recommendations. A key recommendation common to both is for a Scottish Marine Management Organisation. It would be the responsibility of this body to simplify governance and carry out marine spatial planning, according to the AGMACS report. Marine spatial planning is described by Defra as strategic planning for regulating the marine environment, including through allocation of space that addresses the multiple and potentially conflicting uses of the sea. According to both reports, a statutory system of marine spatial planning should be established in Scotland. The committee’s report also stresses the importance of democracy and accountability in marine spatial planning, stipulating that a system must incorporate local stakeholder input.
Likewise, the committee’s report highlights the importance of establishing a network of marine-protected areas. This has been on the political agenda for some time as the Scottish executive’s 2005 marine strategy set a target to establish such a network by 2010. As a case in point, ship-to-ship transfer of oil in environmentally sensitive sites such as the Firth of Forth was cited by the committee’s report to illustrate the need for an overall regulatory body, a planning system and a network of marine-protected areas.
Environmental groups in Scotland have been campaigning hard for a Marine Bill that delivers these core objectives and is driven by environmental sustainability. Dr Rebecca Boyd, Marine Policy Officer for Scottish Wildlife Trust said: “If the forthcoming Scottish Marine Bill keeps the health of the marine ecosystem core to its purpose, establishes a marine planning system and lead body to ensure that we use this ‘golden goose’ sustainably, and creates a network of marine-protected areas to protect habitats and species special to Scotland, we hope that we will see the recovery of the marine environment, and with it, more sustainable coastal communities, and marine-related livelihoods.”
Likewise Ylva Haglund, Marine Bill Campaign Officer with Scottish environment LINK said: “At the moment, more than 80 different pieces of legislation regulate activities in Scotland’s seas. This has left our marine wildlife poorly protected and struggling to cope with the pressures from the increasing demands on our seas… We at Scottish environment LINK want to see a Scottish Marine Bill with the environment at its heart, so that we can prevent
further loss of marine wildlife and safeguard Scotland’s resources for future generations.”
Industry stakeholders such as the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation (SFF) have also welcomed the plans to introduce a Bill and the opportunity to have an input into the process through the Sustainable Seas Taskforce. Bertie Armstrong, Chief executive of the SFF said: “The Scottish fishing fleet represents the heavy end of the UK industry and the waters within 200 miles off the Scottish coasts contain a world class resource of fish stocks, renewable for the foreseeable future if managed correctly. It is therefore important that wider decisions that are the stuff of a Marine Bill and which will affect the harvesting of that renewable resource take proper account of the views and requirements of regional stakeholders. There is much more certainty that the balance will be correctly weighted in a Scottish Marine Bill, working in harmony with arrangements for the rest of the UK.”
But Scotland is hardly unique in having to balance marine priorities. So comparatively speaking, how have other countries dealt with the complex issue of marine management? Australia is one example which Scotland could look to. In 1998 the Australian Government established an Oceans Policy. With 80 per cent of species in Australian waters endemic to Australia and marine industries worth $30bn Australian dollars to their economy, the government saw an adequate management system as essential to safeguard the health of this unique and lucrative national resource. Like proposals for Scotland’s Bill, Australia’s Oceans Policy makes provisions for establishing a ‘single national ballast water management system’, implementing a system of marine-protected areas and a marine planning system, plus setting out plans for greater marine research. The marine planning system is localised and regional, involving key stakeholders just as the committee’s report recommends for Scotland. Similarly, Norway has a system of local coastal and marine planning, which creates statutory local plans to manage a range of activities.
In terms of the proven benefits of marine-protected areas, Dr Rebecca Boyd, Scottish Wildlife Trust said: “Marine-protected areas have proved their benefits to marine health and fisheries all over the world – temperate examples include Cape Rodney to Okakari Point Marine Reserve, New Zealand, the Isle of Man scallop closure and Georges Bank, Gulf of Maine.”
On the inevitable political side of things, whilst there appears to be solid cross-party support behind the Bill so far, progress has not come about without a little political controversy and a touch of the familiar SNP-Westminster tensions. Alongside the Scottish Government’s actions, the UK Government is also moving towards a UK Marine Bill. So far it produced a White Paper on a Bill last March, though Gordon Brown came under criticism in November for not
committing to a Bill in his first Queen’s Speech.
Under the Scotland Act, the Scottish Parliament has responsibility for territorial waters to 12 nautical miles (though Scottish ministers regulate fisheries and renewable energy beyond these limits) while the UK Government is responsible for waters beyond that. One of the key recommendations of the influential AGMACS report was that consideration should be given to the Scottish Marine Management Organisation having responsibility for fisheries and marine nature conservation to 200 miles out to sea. This has been carried forward, unsurprisingly, by environment Secretary Richard Lochhead as a case for an extension of marine powers to the Scottish Parliament – a proposal which won’t go unchecked in Whitehall. In October Lochhead admitted he faced some tough negotiations in persuading the UK Government to accept this proposal in the weeks and months ahead but nevertheless, pledged his continued determination to secure these powers. Whether the outcome of these negotiations proves another public power play between Holyrood and Westminster or a consensual settlement, remains to be seen.
Meanwhile environmental bodies are calling for serious co-operation between the UK and Scottish Governments on both Marine Bills to deliver a joined-up coherent marine policy. On this issue Calum Duncan of Scottish environment LINK said: “Marine life does not recognise political boundaries. It is important therefore for the Scottish Marine Bill to be aligned with the UK Bill so that policy goals for all the UK’s seas can be agreed.”
In sum, regulating Scotland’s waters and managing its many uses will be no mean feat. The Scottish Government’s ambitious plans to introduce an all encompassing Bill to attain harmony amongst competing users whilst securing the future environmental health of our seas will not be easily achieved. With such an array of diverse voices at the table in the pending consultation and thereafter, consensus over management issues could prove thorny. But regardless of its success or otherwise, this Bill represents a landmark initiative by the Scottish Government and one from which there is no turning back.
One person has commented on this article. 1. Sea Change
Mark Carter, Unregistered An excellent report: A “MUST READ” for any discerning politician.
Related news items:
|
Holyrood magazine is the fortnightly insiders guide to understanding the complexity of Scottish politics and policy developments and is widely regarded as being the leading publication for political news and information in Scotland.
