Marine Scotland

History

Marine Scotland was established on 1 April 2009, merging two executive agencies (Fisheries Research Services and the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency) and the Scottish Government marine and fishery policy divisions.

Role, staffing and budget

Marine Scotland has responsibility for marine science, planning, policy development, management and for monitoring compliance. Its role is to encourage all concerned with the marine environment to work together towards agreed priorities and outcomes: and to ensure complementary approaches so that the impact of marine management activity across Scotland exceeds the sum of its constituent parts. While many of its activities are focused on marine issues, it also continues to play an important role in the research and management of freshwater fisheries.

Marine Scotland has around 700 staff, possessing a range of skills and professions including scientists, sea fishery officers, policy, administrative and professional/ technical staff. Staff are predominantly located in Edinburgh or the Marine Laboratory in Aberdeen, but Marine Scotland also have a Scotland-wide network of offices and field stations and support assets including 3 research vessels, 3 patrol vessels, 2 surveillance aircraft and a fisheries monitoring centre responsible for remote monitoring of fishing vessels.

Marine Scotland's operating budget for the 2015/2016 fiscal year was approximately £47.9m. As at November 2016, Mike Palmer is the acting director. It was announced on 14 February 2017 that Graham Black will take up the post of Director of Marine Scotland from mid-March 2017.

Marine Scotland Compliance

Marine Scotland's Compliance division monitors and enforces marine and fishing laws in Scottish waters. It reports as appropriate to the Scottish prosecuting authorities and provides intelligence on fishing activity in the seas around Scotland. As of 2016, Marine Scotland has a fleet of three Marine Protection Vessels:

Marine Scotland also has a fleet of two Reims Cessna F-406 Caravan II aircraft for aerial surveillance, operated by DirectFlight

Marine Scotland Science

Marine Scotland's Science division (MSS) undertakes research and provides scientific and technical advice to the Scottish Government (and the UK and European Union authorities) on a number of marine and fisheries issues including aquaculture and fish health, freshwater fisheries, sea fisheries and the marine ecosystem in Scotland's seas. MSS operates two research vessels which are fitted with a wide range of deployment and recovery facilities for fishing gear and equipment, scientific and environmental sensors, and data gathering systems:

MSS also have an additional vessel, the MV Temora, which is used for sampling as part of the Long Term Climate Change Monitoring Programme.

Marine Scotland Planning & Policy

Marine Scotland's Planning & Policy division (MPP) covers three main policy areas and the Licensing Operations Team (LOT)

Marine Spatial Planning

Marine Scotland are involved in marine spatial planning at both at a national and regional level. Scotland's Marine Atlas was published in 2011 as a baseline assessment, with Scotland's first National Marine Plan published in 2015. The information from the Atlas and National Marine Plan is available through Scotland's National Marine Plan Interactive (NMPi) and Marine Scotland Information portals. NMPi also contributes towards Marine Scotland's INSPIRE obligations

Offshore Marine Renewables

The Scottish Government is developing plans for offshore wind, wave and tidal energy in Scottish waters. Marine Scotland will explore how offshore wind, wave and tidal energy can contribute to meeting Scotland’s target of generating the equivalent of 100% of electricity demand from renewable sources and also seek to maximise the contribution of these technologies to achieving a low carbon economy.

Marine Conservation

Marine Scotland follows a strategy for Marine Nature Conservation in Scotland's Seas based on the three pillars of species conservation, site protection, and wider seas policies and measures. Work continues on a Marine Protected Area network with 30 nature conservation MPAs designated in 2014.

Licensing Operations Team (LOT)

The Marine Scotland Licensing Operations team is a central point-of-contact for activities such as depositing or removing objects or substances from the seabed; construction or alteration works, dredging; depositing or using explosives.