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2. THE IMPORTANCE OF SCOTLAND'S MARINE AND COASTAL AREAS
2.1 Scotland's territorial waters (out to 12 nautical miles and including internal waters) cover a greater surface area than its territorial land mass. We have over 11,000 km of coastline, representing one of the largest inshore areas of any EU country. 20% of our population live within 1km of the coast and about 70% within 10kms. A quarter of Scottish businesses, accounting for 10% of Scottish turnover and 20% employment, are within 1km of the coast. There are 130 inhabited islands. Our coastal and marine areas are of outstanding scenic, historic and cultural value boosting Scotland's image at home and abroad. The coast is one of our most popular tourist destinations.
Salmon Cages, Loch Eriboll, Lochaber.
© Lorne Gill / SNH
2.2 The seas around Scotland are some of the most productive in the world. This is reflected in the economic importance of fishing and aquaculture to Scotland's rural and island communities. Our marine and coastal areas support 16,000 fishing and aquaculture related jobs. Over 60% of the UK catch, with a landings value of £300m, comes from Scottish vessels. We account for 90% of the UK's farmed fish, with a farm gate value of £300m.
Sea View
The newly created EU Regional Advisory Councils ( RACs) have the potential to improve significantly the governance of the fisheries of interest to Scotland. The RACs are stakeholder-led bodies, comprising both fishing and other interests including environmental NGOs, consumer groups and scientists. Their role is to provide advice and recommendations to the European Commission and Member States on fisheries management and marine environment issues within the sea areas that they cover. The North Sea RAC was the first to become operational in November 2004 and the other two RACs of interest to Scotland, the North Western Waters RAC and the Pelagic species RAC will be established during 2005.
Map B
Iona Ferry.
© Lorne Gill / SNH
2.3 Other key industries drawing on marine and coastal resources around our shores include oil and gas, shipping, tourism and recreation. We contribute to the £23bn of UK oil and gas production, supporting Scottish jobs and bringing income to Scottish communities. Offshore renewable energy developments will become increasingly important, with the potential to support between 6,000 and 8,000 direct jobs in the UK by 2020. There are 5.5m passenger and 90m tonnes of freight movements through Scottish ports. Marine wildlife tourism supports over 2,500 jobs and earns £57m of revenue.
Sea View
European Marine Energy Test Centre, Orkney
The European Marine Energy Centre ( EMEC) off Billa Croo on the Orkney mainland, the first test centre of its kind in the world, was formally opened in August 2004 with the assistance of £5m funding provided by the Scottish Executive, Highlands and Islands Enterprise ( HIE), Scottish Enterprise, Orkney Islands Council, the Department of Trade and Industry and the Carbon Trust. It currently provides four test berths 2 kilometres offshore in a water depth of 50 metres and operates under a seabed lease from the Crown Estate, a consent to locate under section 34 of the Coast Protection Act 1949 and a licence to make deposits in the sea under Part II of the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985. The funding partners announced in spring 2005 that EMEC would be extended to include facilities for testing tidal devices. The additional facility will be at the Falls of Warness off the island of Eday, Orkney and is expected to be operational by spring 2006.
Broch of Mousa, Shetland.
© Lorne Gill / SNH
2.4 Scotland is also rich in coastal and marine sites of cultural and historical significance. About 25% of the Scottish coast has been surveyed as part of Historic Scotland's Coastal Zone Assessment programme. Extrapolation from that suggests about 34,000 monuments spanning 9,000 years of human activity lie close to our coasts, with 12,400 likely to be vulnerable to coastal erosion. 600 of those sites are estimated to be highly significant monuments, of which, 300 could rate as of international significance. The 14 staffed coastal and island properties in Historic Scotland's care attracted over 370,000 visitors and generated on-site income of £1.7m in 2004/5, with indirect employment and income benefits to the local communities. Recreational diving at shipwreck sites is estimated to attract more than 4,500 visitors each year to the Sound of Mull, generating revenue in excess of £1.5m, and accounts for about 14% of visitors to Scapa Flow, Orkney, worth about £3m to the local economy.
Sea View
Skara Brae is the most complete Neolithic village in N W Europe, and forms part of the Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site, dating from the 3 rd millennium BC. It was discovered in the 19 th century through coastal erosion, and successive excavations have revealed a site which is now in State care and attracts well over 60,000 visitors per year. Continued coastal change has required progressive extension of the site's coastal defences, but the situation has now reached a critical point where major scale engineering will be required to give the site a chance of survival beyond the middle of the 21 st century.
Windsurfing, © Andi Robertson/ SNH. Birdwatching © Lorne Gilll / SNH.
Diving ©SNH
2.5 Our marine and coastal environment also contains many special and some unique landscapes of national and international renown. We have some distinctive natural habitats, such as sea lochs and maerl beds. Scottish waters are among the most diverse in the world, supporting over 8,000 complex and over 36,000 single cell species of plants and animals. Some species, like basking shark and leatherback turtle, are of international significance.
Sea View
Visitscotland has created SeaScotland 2005 to celebrate our maritime heritage and our affinity with our coastline and inland waterways. The SeaScotland web site details water based events from boat festivals to maritime exhibitions and from surf competitions to seafood festivals. www.vistiscotland.com
Serpulid Reefs
(Serpula vermicularis),
Loch Creran
© Sue Scott / SNH
2.6 Our marine and coastal areas are therefore hugely important in economic, social, environmental and ecological terms. It is crucial that coastal and marine based activity is managed in a way that integrates the consideration of each of these factors into decision making processes. Existing sectoral strategies recognise and promote that integration by focusing on sustainable development and the sustainable use of resources as key factors of profitability and good management. Those strategies sit within a framework of environmental regulation, which often provides for specific protection of designated areas of the coast and sea.
2.7 Further detail on the value of our coasts and seas is available from A Sustainable Framework for Scottish Sea Fisheries [http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2005/07/07105456/54577 ];]; the Scottish Coastal Socio-economic Scoping Study (Scottish Executive Social Research 2002, ISBN 0755934733, [http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library5/environment/scse-00.asp ]]; the Scottish Coastal Forum's Strategy for Scotland's Coast and Inshore Waters [http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library5/environment/ssciw-00.asp ]]; the Scottish Biodiversity Forum's Scottish Biodiversity Strategy [http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library5/environment/sbiiyh-00.asp ]]; and the Strategic Framework for Inshore Fisheries in Scotland [ www.scotland.gov.uk/library5/fisheries/sfifs-00.asp].
Map C
Green alga, Codiumsp, Otterswick, Orkney.
© SNH
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