Thursday 10 Apr 2008 @ 16:09
Scottish Government
Scottish Government
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Scotland's seas report
The first ever report on the state of Scotland's seas was published yesterday, to help lay the groundwork for the new Scottish Marine Bill.
Scotland's Seas: Towards Understanding their State outlines the cleanliness, health and productivity of Scotland's waters. It will be presented to the Sustainable Seas Task Force at a meeting today.
The main findings are:
* Scotland's seas are generally clean and safe, with a trend towards reduction of most pollutants over the past 20 years
* The seas are generally healthy and biologically diverse, with around 40,000 species of plants, animals and microbial forms living in Scottish waters
* The seas are productive and generate around £2.2 billion of marine-industry activity (excluding oil and gas activity) and provide approximately 50,000 jobs in Scotland
The report was commissioned by the Scottish Government and has been jointly produced by Fisheries Research Service (FRS), Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) and Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) with assistance from the wider marine scientific community across Scotland and the UK.
Commenting on the report, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment, Richard Lochhead, said:
"Scotland is fortunate enough to have a unique marine environment that everyone should be able to enjoy.
"In order to protect our seas, it is imperative we establish a greater understanding of the current state of our seas and this report which I commissioned is a great starting point. It will provide a baseline against which to measure future progress.
"I am pleased to note the conclusion that our seas are generally clean, safe, healthy and biologically diverse, with around 40,000 species of plants, animals and microbial forms living in Scottish waters. Our seas are also relatively productive, generating around £2.2 billion of marine-industry activity and providing 50,000 jobs in Scotland.
"However I aware of the need to balance demands on the sea in order to ensure our resources are used in a sustainable manner to preserve these assets for the future.
"This report provides substantial evidence for the Sustainable Seas Task Force to build on when developing proposals for a new Scottish Marine Bill to effectively safeguard our waters for future generations to come. I would like to thank all those involved in producing it."
Robin Cook, Chief Executive, Fisheries Research Services (FRS) said:
"Scotland's seas' are rich, diverse and productive. This report forms an important step in ensuring the sound stewardship of our marine environment and the protection of the many thousands jobs that are dependent on our seas."
SEPA Chief Executive Campbell Gemmell said:
"'Scotland's seas - towards understanding their state' summarises the detail of the vast amount of work already being carried out to protect and understand the Scottish marine environment. It is the first step to a more comprehensive and detailed report on the state of the marine environment, due in 2010.
"As a partner in this important work, SEPA will continue to collaborate with the other agencies involved. Our combined expertise will be a powerful force in dealing with the challenge of managing Scotland's seas sustainably."
SNH Chief Executive Ian Jardine said:
"As a maritime nation, we have a long history of studying and exploiting our marine natural resources. In the 21st century our challenge is to use our marine environment sustainably. Most of the population of Scotland has an interest in marine issues, even if that's to enjoy a day out on a clean beach. But we know there are challenges ahead in agreeing how best to use these resources, and protect them in the face of climate change and threats from new invasive species.
"To ensure the future long-term health of Scottish seas, it is essential to maintain a balance between sustainable exploitation of marine resources and the protection of wildlife and natural features. This important report will help us all to coordinate action for our seas."
The report makes an initial assessment against the Government's vision for the marine environment of "clean, healthy, safe, productive and biologically diverse managed to meet the long term needs of nature and people".
The report is an initial assessment and paves the way towards the publication in 2010 of a comprehensive 'State of Scotland's Seas'. This will be necessary as we prepare for the initial assessment of our seas required under the recently completed Marine Strategy Framework Directive.
The Cabinet Secretary established the Sustainable Seas Task Force in January 2008 to lay the foundations for a public consultation on the Scottish Marine Bill later in the year.
Related Information
Scotland's Seas: Towards Understanding their State outlines the cleanliness, health and productivity of Scotland's waters. It will be presented to the Sustainable Seas Task Force at a meeting today.
The main findings are:
* Scotland's seas are generally clean and safe, with a trend towards reduction of most pollutants over the past 20 years
* The seas are generally healthy and biologically diverse, with around 40,000 species of plants, animals and microbial forms living in Scottish waters
* The seas are productive and generate around £2.2 billion of marine-industry activity (excluding oil and gas activity) and provide approximately 50,000 jobs in Scotland
The report was commissioned by the Scottish Government and has been jointly produced by Fisheries Research Service (FRS), Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) and Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) with assistance from the wider marine scientific community across Scotland and the UK.
Commenting on the report, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment, Richard Lochhead, said:
"Scotland is fortunate enough to have a unique marine environment that everyone should be able to enjoy.
"In order to protect our seas, it is imperative we establish a greater understanding of the current state of our seas and this report which I commissioned is a great starting point. It will provide a baseline against which to measure future progress.
"I am pleased to note the conclusion that our seas are generally clean, safe, healthy and biologically diverse, with around 40,000 species of plants, animals and microbial forms living in Scottish waters. Our seas are also relatively productive, generating around £2.2 billion of marine-industry activity and providing 50,000 jobs in Scotland.
"However I aware of the need to balance demands on the sea in order to ensure our resources are used in a sustainable manner to preserve these assets for the future.
"This report provides substantial evidence for the Sustainable Seas Task Force to build on when developing proposals for a new Scottish Marine Bill to effectively safeguard our waters for future generations to come. I would like to thank all those involved in producing it."
Robin Cook, Chief Executive, Fisheries Research Services (FRS) said:
"Scotland's seas' are rich, diverse and productive. This report forms an important step in ensuring the sound stewardship of our marine environment and the protection of the many thousands jobs that are dependent on our seas."
SEPA Chief Executive Campbell Gemmell said:
"'Scotland's seas - towards understanding their state' summarises the detail of the vast amount of work already being carried out to protect and understand the Scottish marine environment. It is the first step to a more comprehensive and detailed report on the state of the marine environment, due in 2010.
"As a partner in this important work, SEPA will continue to collaborate with the other agencies involved. Our combined expertise will be a powerful force in dealing with the challenge of managing Scotland's seas sustainably."
SNH Chief Executive Ian Jardine said:
"As a maritime nation, we have a long history of studying and exploiting our marine natural resources. In the 21st century our challenge is to use our marine environment sustainably. Most of the population of Scotland has an interest in marine issues, even if that's to enjoy a day out on a clean beach. But we know there are challenges ahead in agreeing how best to use these resources, and protect them in the face of climate change and threats from new invasive species.
"To ensure the future long-term health of Scottish seas, it is essential to maintain a balance between sustainable exploitation of marine resources and the protection of wildlife and natural features. This important report will help us all to coordinate action for our seas."
The report makes an initial assessment against the Government's vision for the marine environment of "clean, healthy, safe, productive and biologically diverse managed to meet the long term needs of nature and people".
The report is an initial assessment and paves the way towards the publication in 2010 of a comprehensive 'State of Scotland's Seas'. This will be necessary as we prepare for the initial assessment of our seas required under the recently completed Marine Strategy Framework Directive.
The Cabinet Secretary established the Sustainable Seas Task Force in January 2008 to lay the foundations for a public consultation on the Scottish Marine Bill later in the year.
Related Information
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/04/03093608/0
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Environment/Water/16440/SSTF
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