Fisheries and Marine Science 
The Scottish Government, mainly in support of the policy responsibilities of the Marine Directorate, supports research on fisheries and marine science. The work is principally delivered by Fisheries Research Services (FRS) but the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) and Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), sponsored by other Directorates, also make relevant contributions.
The work of FRS is currently structured around four main programmes (see summaries and links below) that closely align with the responsibilities of policy groups within the Scottish Government. The largest part (about 70 per cent) of each of these science programmes consists of advisory, representational and monitoring work but each is also supported by underpinning research. FRS enhances the value of its research by participating in shared cost projects with other institutes, e.g. through research funded by the European Commission and more recently by establishing 'Partnership Agreements' with key Scottish Universities.
The four main FRS work programmes (follow links for more details):
Aquaculture and Aquatic Animal Health: The epidemiology of fish and shellfish disease; developing diagnostic tests to differentiation between diseases and between pathogenic and non-pathogenic strains of individual diseases; disease interactions between farmed and wild populations of salmon; modelling environmental factors (e.g. hydrography) as vectors for the spread of disease; impacts of changes in the aquaculture industry for the management of disease.
Aquatic Environment: Developing tools and indicators to monitor changes in the marine environment; understanding and managing man's impacts on the marine environment and its ecosytems; physical and ecosystem management modelling, e.g. to assess the carrying capacity of coastal waters for aquaculture; understanding the hydrographic regime of Scottish waters.
Salmonid and Freshwater Fisheries: Improving assessments of Scottish salmonid and freshwater fish stocks; understanding the genetic structuring of fish populations between and within catchments; habitat restoration and the relationship between the freshwater environment and the success of freshwater fish populations; understanding the effects of predation on salmonids by birds and seals.
Sea Fisheries Management: Improving the reliability and robustness of stock assessments for species of particular importance to Scotland; understanding the links between fish stocks and changes in the marine environment; fish behaviour and improving the selectivity of fishing gears; the impacts of fishing on the environment; how fisheries management can contribute to wider marine management issues.