Chamber and committees

Scottish natural heritage (SNH) provided scientific advice relating to the impacts of activities on the protected marine features at each site. Advice specific to the summer isles was published in 2014 and can be seen from p25 onwards in the following document:

http://www.snh.org.uk/pdfs/publications/commissioned_reports/764.pdf

This topic was also discussed at the North West stakeholder workshop in October 2014 where it was stated by SNH representatives that it was likely that a depth restriction of at least 30m would be required, which is in excess of the voluntary arrangement. The note of that workshop can be found at:

http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0047/00475618.docx

East Mingulay SAC was designated as a special area of conservation (SAC) in 2011 to protect both stony and biogenic reef habitats. This includes 100% of the only known lophelia pertusa reefs in UK inshore waters.

The avoidance of physical disturbance and abrasion by fishing gear of the reef habitats and associated species is the primary consideration. Biogenic reefs are very fragile and even accidental impact can lead to irreversible degradation. A further consideration has been the potential risk that the reef habitats are subject to smothering by sediments stirred up by adjacent trawling activity. The proposed measures are considered to be the best approach to minimise the risk of direct or indirect impacts from trawling on any of the reef habitats, and to minimise risks posed to the biogenic habitats by static gear.

The proposed measures have been designed to allow fishing activities to continue as much as possible within the marine protected areas. The scale of the measures varies depending on the potential level of impact that an activity could have on the protected habitats and species.

The Scottish Government has made changes to management proposals in response to views expressed through the public consultation. The sites with the greatest change are Loch Sunart to Sound of Jura MPA, Small Isles MPA, South Arran MPA, and Wester Ross MPA. draft marine conservation orders for these 4 MPAs were published on 11 June 2015. Representations on these draft orders were invited by no later than 9 August 2015. This period provided an additional consultative period for stakeholder views on the revised proposals to be submitted. These will be taken into account before the new orders are laid in the Scottish Parliament.

The environmental report considered the implications of the various management approaches that were consulted on. This also considered the implication of 100% displacement of scallop dredging from each marine protected area. This report can be found at: http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0046/00464215.pdf

The amount of displacement that would occur is considered necessary to ensure that the conservation objectives of each marine protected area are furthered. It is inevitable that a reduction in the footprint of an activity within a marine protected area will result in an increase of effort in other areas unaffected by the management measures. The environmental report assumed that most effort would be displaced onto existing fishing grounds already modified by the activity. Discussion with the fishing industry in early 2014 indicated that there are few, if any, unexploited fishing grounds in Scottish inshore waters. The conclusion was that this displacement is not likely to have a significant adverse effect on the environment outwith the marine protected areas.

The proposed measures will regulate fishing activities to protect the marine environment. They will ensure that the conservation objectives of each marine protected area are furthered.

Following requests from a number of stakeholders, Scottish Ministers extended the period for representations to 9 August 2015. Implementation of the new orders is now scheduled for 1 November 2015.

AG Barr is a member of the Packaging Recycling Group Scotland (PRGS) and a number of meetings have taken place with PRGS and AG Barr in recent months on deposit return systems and related issues.

I commissioned a study from Zero Waste Scotland to explore the feasibility of introducing a national deposit return system in Scotland. Following publication of this study, a call for evidence sought further information. At this stage, no particular model or system has been proposed by the Scottish Government, and we will consider further any issues raised during the call for evidence.

I commissioned a study from Zero Waste Scotland to explore the feasibility of introducing a national deposit return system in Scotland. Following publication of this study, a call for evidence sought further information. At this stage, no particular model or system has been proposed by the Scottish Government, and we will consider further any issues raised during the call for evidence.