Scotland's marine area is of great environmental, social and economic value both nationally and internationally. The Scottish Government is committed to the sustainable use and protection of this important marine resource, to ensure future generations will continue to enjoy and benefit from our seas.
The Marine (Scotland) Bill was introduced to Parliament on April 29, 2009, meeting demands from a wide diversity of marine users for better stewardship and management of Scotland's valuable and iconic seas.
The Bill introduces a framework for the sustainable management of the seas around Scotland, ensuring the need to protect our seas is integrated with economic growth of marine industries. It introduces:
- Marine planning: a new statutory marine planning system to sustainably manage the increasing, and often conflicting, demands on our seas
- Marine licensing: a simpler licensing system, minimising the number of licences required for development in the marine environment to cut bureaucracy and encourage economic investment
- Marine conservation: improved marine nature and historic conservation with new powers to protect and manage areas of importance for marine wildlife, habitats and historic monuments
- Seal conservation: much improved protection for seals and a new comprehensive licence system to ensure appropriate management when necessary
- Enforcement: a range of enhanced powers of marine conservation and licensing
Current status of Bill: The Bill passed Stage 1 on October 29 2009. The Rural Affairs and Environment Committee's Stage 1 Report and the Scottish Government's response can be found on the Scottish Parliament's website.
Rural Affairs and Environment Committee's Stage 1 Report
Scottish Government response to Stage 1 Report
Scottish Marine Bill and Accompanying Documents