Scottish Government's Marine Directorate

Research is currently being carried out exploring Fishers’ views on compliance and enforcement. If you are a Fisher who would like to share your views click on the link below to find out more about the research and to access the survey: https://bit.ly/3yOAcS6 Closing date is 16 Sept.

Many creatures make their home in deep, soft mud, both in Scotland’s inshore and offshore Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) 🦐 🐚 From slender seapens to scallops, the soft sediment and associated sheltered conditions make an ideal habitat for communities to dig-in and form shelters. Central Fladen MPA is one of the network of MPAs that includes this burrowed mud habitat as a protected feature, as shown in this video 👇 https://lnkd.in/eVmY26K5 Burrowed mud is an important habitat for commercially important species such as Norway Lobster (Nephrops norvegicus). This photo from Central Fladen MPA, taken during a 2013 survey shows holes in the sediment from burrowing species like Nephrops. Unfortunately, the animals themselves are very camera shy! Burrowed mud is also very useful as a form of blue carbon, trapping atmospheric carbon in the seabed. This scientific report from JNCC shows the importance of blue carbon for the mitigation of impacts of climate change 👇 https://lnkd.in/e6eK5_hd 📸 © 2013 JNCC/Marine Directorate/Cefas/Northern Lighthouse Board Scottish Government's Marine Directorate #MarineProtectedAreas #MPAs #ClimateChange #BlueCarbon #TurningScienceIntoAction #ForNaturePeoplePlanet

Electronic tracking and monitoring of fishing vessels can:   🔵 support sustainable fisheries management   🔵 inform marine planning decisions    🔵 ensure confidence in Scottish seafood      Our video takes a look at how rolling out Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS) and Remote Electronic Monitoring (REM) technologies proportionately could support Scotland's fishing fleet and marine environment.    #fisheriesmanagement #marineenvironment #vesseltracking #remoteelectronicmonitoring

Our Sustainable Communities Fund opened to applications this morning for its fifth year. £425,000 is available across the two funding streams: - Community Capacity Grants, which offer early-stage financial support for community projects - Environment Grants, which support Crown Estate Scotland tenants to undertake projects with demonstrable environmental benefits If you think your project might qualify for support, follow the link below for full details on the fund and eligibility criteria ⬇ https://lnkd.in/eX-_EYc2

Check out the new geospatial feature of @citizenspace, this video guides you through the process of completing the MPA consultation launched earlier this week.  #ScottishSeas #MPAs   👉 https://bit.ly/MPAc  

Yesterday we launched a consultation on fisheries management measures for existing MPAs: https://lnkd.in/eax2jnsa Find out more below:

MPAs have an important role to play in conserving the seas. They enable the focused protection of habitats and species which are essential to the marine ecosystem. Scottish Ministers have committed to delivering fisheries management measures for existing Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) where these are not already in place. Today we’ve launched an 8-week consultation and will be holding several in-person and virtual events. Further details can be found below. Link: https://lnkd.in/eax2jnsa 29/08/24 10am: https://lnkd.in/ewPmPHgY 02/09/24 3pm: https://lnkd.in/e8MYQZZp 10/09/24 6pm: https://lnkd.in/edSmh2vU 18/09/24 12pm: https://lnkd.in/eXP-jGjV 26/09/24 5pm: https://lnkd.in/egesGMWr

The Scottish Government’s vision for the marine environment is for clean, healthy, safe, productive, and diverse seas, managed to meet the long-term needs of nature and people.    As part of this commitment, Gillian Martin, Acting Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy has today formally launched a public consultation to gather views for putting in place fisheries management within existing offshore Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). The proposed measures have been developed with extensive stakeholder input over several years and have been informed by scientific evidence and socio-economic data. The consultation is seeking views and comments on fisheries management options for 20 protected areas in the offshore marine region. Link: https://lnkd.in/eax2jnsa Find out more below -

Taking a dive into the sea with the letter J in our Marine A to Z. Did you know that jellyfish are a type of plankton? They are a gelatinous zooplankton and predator for phytoplankton. Jellyfish are a valuable indicator species, changes in the plankton ecosystem impacts biodiversity which is associated with changes in sea temperatures. Marine Directorate colleagues co-authored, with scientists at Cefas and the Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML) the Plankton, Jellyfish and Climate in the North-East Atlantic paper 👇 https://lnkd.in/ehSUNJxB   #MDAZ24 #MarineAtoZ #Plankton #Zooplankton #Jellyfish #IndicatorSpecies #MarineScience

📢 PrePARED Project Announcement    The University of Aberdeen, as part of the #PrePAREDProject, have released a report assessing the responses of harbour porpoises to offshore wind farm pile-driving.    This report provides a direct estimate of an Effective Deterrent Range (EDR), which are used to assess the spatial scale of disturbance, for the installation of monopiles without noise abatement.     You can read the full report, and report summary here: https://bit.ly/3WKy2uI The PrePARED Project is funded by The Crown Estate OWEC programme and Crown Estate Scotland.