Chamber and committees

The publication of the pre-consultation draft national marine plan demonstrates the government’s current approach to managing the demands of marine activities. Until the National Marine Plan is adopted, decisions regarding marine activities and developments will continue to be made under existing frameworks and the marine licensing regime. These take account of social and environmental impacts, promoting a sustainable approach to development and activities.

Scotland’s marine and inland waters (and the activities they support such as sailing, fishing and water sports) together with the associated biodiversity are valuable niche markets within the tourism industry in Scotland. The industry-led tourism strategy “Tourism Scotland 2020” identified “nature, heritage and activities” as one of four groups of key assets that the industry will use in targeting the markets that offer Scotland the greatest growth potential.

Recognising the importance of these assets, 2013 has been designated as our Year of Natural Scotland, a year in which we will celebrate Scotland’s reputation as a place of outstanding natural beauty with landscapes, littoral areas and biodiversity to engage with and enjoy responsibly.

In the run up to, and during, the year we will focus on promoting the activities available in Scotland’s natural tourism attractions and will inspire the people of Scotland to rediscover their own country and visitors to come and experience and participate in Scotland’s natural festivals and events, natural tourism attraction and outdoors locations.

VisitScotland has specific areas on its website promoting marine activities such as water-sports, sailing and fishing. The Green Tourism Business Scheme also enables visitors to Scotland to choose accommodation which has had their ecological credentials independently verified.

The term ecotourism can cover a very wide spectrum of tourism activities related to the appreciation of Scotland’s environment. At one end of that spectrum are carefully planned visits to view our superb flora and fauna. Many more visitors come to enjoy our breathtaking scenery at first hand, for example by engaging in water-borne or water-related activities.

There have been earlier reports which looked at the impact of broad industry activities - such as nature based tourism and wildlife tourism - across Scotland as a whole. In 2010, a Scottish Government study, The Economic Impact of Wildlife Tourism in Scotland Research Findings No. 1/2010 (http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2010/05/12150843/3) estimated coastal and marine wildlife tourism have a respective net economic impact of £24 million and £15 million, together 59% of the total net economic impact of wildlife tourism. Respectively coastal wildlife and marine wildlife tourism are estimated to account for 995 and 633 additional full-time equivalent jobs.

There are some specific studies which give an indication of the value of marine wildlife or natural tourism to an area – e.g. Scottish Natural Heritage estimate for example that whale watching in western Scotland is worth £7.8 million a year, supporting 115 jobs and over 60 boat operators.

It is difficult to gauge the value of ecotourism as a whole to the economy, and correspondingly even more difficult to gauge the value of marine ecotourism within that.

However, VisitScotland’s Tourism Attitudes Survey for 2011 revealed that 58% of people surveyed said that they chose Scotland in order to see the scenery/landscape. Eleven per cent of people surveyed said that they deliberately chose Scotland because it has a good reputation in sustainable tourism, seven per cent chose to stay in accommodation with green credentials and two per cent made a point of choosing an environmentally responsible tour operator. Sixteen per cent of people surveyed said that watching wildlife was an activity which they had undertake whilst on holiday.

It is clear therefore that ecotourism, whether marine or terrestrial, is very important to the overall tourism economy, which contributes £2.9 billion in Gross Value Added every year to the Scottish economy.

<>In 2010, a Scottish Government study, The Economic Impact of Wildlife Tourism in Scotland Research Findings No. 1/2010 (http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2010/05/12150843/3) estimated coastal and marine wildlife tourism have a respective net economic impact of £24 million and £15 million, together 59% of the total net economic impact of wildlife tourism. Respectively coastal wildlife and marine wildlife tourism are estimated to account for 995 and 633 additional full-time equivalent jobs.

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are being identified to protect and safeguard our marine biodiversity and we anticipate that these can enhance the visitor experience for ecotourists to Scotland as well as contribute to the prosperity of rural coastal communities.

Socio-economic assessments, as part of an overall Sustainability Appraisal, will identify what activities currently take place in potential MPAs, and estimate the potential economic and social consequences arising from any potential interactions. This will include a qualitative analysis of the potential benefits of MPAs, taking into account the possible effect on ecotourism in Scotland. This will be made available for the public consultation in 2013.

Tourism operators recently wrote to me to highlight the potential benefits of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) to marine tourism and my officials are aware of estimates of the benefits of MPAs to tourism in other countries.

The focus of the current work to identify Marine Protected Areas in Scotland has been on the scientific evidence base to support inclusion of locations as potential Marine Protected Areas. Currently, the remit of the Sustainability Appraisal which will accompany the 2013 consultation is concentrating on Scotland specific evidence. Should it be considered directly relevant, the effects of marine protected areas on ecotourism in countries where an MPA network exists may be included in this appraisal.

The designation of the Pentland Firth and Orkney Waters as a marine energy park is a matter for the UK Government’s Department of Energy and Climate Change.

However, the Scottish Government is committed to ensuring the sustainable use and protection of our coasts and seas and the resources that they contain and is responsible for planning and licensing offshore renewable activity in Scottish waters. The planning system has an important role in supporting the achievement of sustainable development through its influence on the location, layout and design of any new developments.

The presence of a Crown Estate lease site for development has no formal status as a consideration in determining marine licensing applications. The existence of a lease maybe a factor that is taken into consideration in the development of a marine plan, though this will depend on individual circumstances and developing marine plans. Possible locations for designation as a Marine Protected Area under the Marine (Scotland) Act are being identified using a science led approach but Ministers have provision to take account of other issues in decisions on a designation.

The overall aim is to develop a Marine Protected Area network. All locations are assessed against the MPA selection guidelines and must also satisfy the OSPAR requirements for an ecologically coherent network. Where options to represent features offer the same value, then other factors will be considered.

Socio-economic factors may be considered in selection of sites, where two or more potential areas/search locations meet the scientific guidelines, in order to inform ministers' final decisions. Stakeholders have also been offered the opportunity to comment on whether they have a particular preference for options identified by SNH or JNCC.

The Scoping Studies included data layers describing the distributions of several categories of protected areas. These include established SACs and SPAs, areas under consideration for future designation, and areas of search for potential new protected areas, including MPAs under the Marine (Scotland) Act. Many of these areas have been designated, or are being considered for designation, because of the presence of habitats or species that are Recommended PMFs. Further data layers described the distribution of spawning and nursery grounds for commercial fish species (including some PMF species), the distributions of cetaceans, areas designated for the protected of seals and cetaceans, and sea haul-outs.

All cetaceans are listed as European Protected Species (EPS) and are protected under the Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) Regulations 1994 (as amended), which prohibits the deliberate and reckless capture, injury, killing and disturbance of cetaceans.

When considering an EPS licence application, an assessment is undertaken in consultation with Scottish Natural Heritage and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee. If an EPS licence is granted it may be subject to a range of conditions that specify appropriate mitigation measures to ensure compliance with the regulations. Examples of mitigation may include use of marine mammal observers, passive acoustic monitoring, soft start procedures and restrictions on the timing of works.