HPMAs to be revised as current proposal kicked to kerb

The Scottish Government is dropping its controversial Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMAs) plan in its current form, which proposed to ban fishing in 10 per cent of Scotland's waters.

 

The Net Zero Secretary Màiri McAllan confirmed on June 29 that "plans to deliver increased protection for Scotland’s marine environment will be revised, with a new pathway and timetable".

 

It follows a public consultation which ran earlier in the year on the principles of HPMA policy in Scotland, and attracted widespread opposition along the West Coast.

 

Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch SNP MSP Kate Forbes welcomed the decision to halt the plan and urged island communities to continue to engage with future marine protection consultations.

 

Ms Forbes said: “I am grateful to the Cabinet Secretary who has listened to appeals from across Scotland and acted decisively. This announcement will come as an immense relief to those who understood the risk to coastal communities from the very beginning.

 

“Of course, it is now critical that any new proposals for marine protected areas take into account communities’ views, fishermen’s lived experiences and the importance of a truly just transition. I have confidence in any new proposals that are shaped by fishermen.”

 

SNP MSP for Na h-Eileanan an Iar, Alasdair Allan, also welcomed the announcement. Dr Allan said: “People up and down the Western Isles have been resoundingly clear in their rejection of the proposals in the HPMA consultation.

 

"While most islanders fully recognise the need to protect the seas that surround them, there was a clear consensus that the approach set out in the consultation was too blunt a tool to address such a complex issue."

 

The introduction of HPMAs was part of the Bute House shared policy agreement between the SNP and Scottish Green Party made in 2021.

 

Kate Willis, Scottish Green Party Councillor for Fort William and Ardnamurchan said the party remained committed to enhancing marine protection, but the scale of opposition meant that greater community engagement and compromise was needed.

 

She noted that other countries had shown HPMAs could succeed, and lamented Conservative opposition to a policy that had also appeared in its own 2021 manifesto.

 

While Scotland's existing Marine Protected Area network covers approximately 37 per cent of the nation’s seas, the Scottish Government had sought to maintain or exceed the EU’s target to protect at least 30 per cent of EU seas, with 10 per cent strictly protected, by 2030.

 

Scotland’s 2020 Marine Assessment shows nine out of 21 marine regions in the country have seafloor habitats which are predicted to be in ‘poor condition’ across more than half of their area.