Science and Research
The Scottish Government Marine Directorate relies on evidence from existing science providers, and undertakes research where issues remain unclear, to support policy development within the Scottish Government. Projects undertaken cover a wide range of issues relating to the marine environment and, where appropriate, are conducted in partnership with Fisheries Research Services (FRS), Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA). Indeed, the major drivers of much of the scientific research in this field are the requirements of individual policy areas within the Scottish Government, and EU and international obligations, such as the Water Framework Directive and OSPAR.
As parent body to FRS, SEPA and SNH, the Scottish Government provides an operational policy context and environment designed to foster cross-sector and cross-agency working. Strong cross-cutting links are vital for better understanding marine and coastal ecosystems, both as a whole and in terms of their constituent components, and hence for informing a more evidenced understanding of the relationship between our communities and the coasts and seas. This co-ordinated approach to science and monitoring is intended to provide the cornerstone on which to build a rational sustainable ecosystems-based coastal and marine management scheme.
The national marine and coastal strategy Seas the Opportunity: a long-term strategy for Scotland's coasts and seas (2005) called for a high-level advisory group to identify new areas of research and science necessary to underpin its strategic objectives. This work was undertaken by the science workstream of the Advisory Group on Marine and Coastal Strategy (AGMACS), whose findings are summarised in their submission AGMACS(06)28 .
Fisheries Research Services (FRS) conducts research, monitoring and advice on the quality of the Scottish aquatic environment on behalf of the Scottish Government. FRS also conducts research and provides advice on aquaculture and aquatic animal health, sea fisheries management and salmonid and freshwater fisheries.
The UK-wide ' Charting Progress - An integrated assessment of the state of the UK seas ', was published in 2005. The result of collaboration between all UK Administrations, this report highlighted the need for better integration in the way that scientific data is gathered. A further 'Charting Progress' is due in 2010.
The UK Government and devolved administrations have set up a marine assessment policy committee (MAPC), which steers marine science and monitoring for the UK as a whole. The first meeting of this group took place in December 2005, following which the current work programme to establish new systems and ways of working, with which the Scottish Government is closely involved, was agreed.
In addition, lessons from "Charting Progress" initiated two further initiatives in which the Scottish Government is an active partner:
- the Marine Data and Information Partnership (MDIP), which aims to establish a national framework to achieve a more co-ordinated approach to managing marine data and information, thus becoming a 'data warehouse' within which all marine data, irrespective of source, could be stored and accessed easily; and
- the Marine Climate Change Impacts Partnership (MCCIP), which aims to develop a long-term multi-disciplinary approach to understanding and communicating the implications of climate change in our seas.