Environment groups furious as marine protections delayed again - Scotlink

Environment charities have reacted with fury after the Scottish government announced yesterday (10 December 2025) that fisheries restrictions in marine protected areas, originally due to be implemented in 2016, are to be delayed for the fourth time.

Yesterday (10 December 2025) Gillian Martin, Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy, said a promised consultation on fisheries management measures for inshore marine protected areas – those within 12 nautical miles from the shore – would not happen before the May 2026 Holyrood election.

The charities, members of Scottish Environment LINK, say repeated delays are allowing the destruction of marine life to continue, including vital seabed habitats like flame shell beds and maerl which are being torn up by bottom trawling and dredging.

Most of Scotland’s marine protected areas were designated in 2014. The Scottish government is required by law to design and implement fishing restrictions for each area, to protect the marine wildlife it contains. The original 2016 deadline for these measures was missed, as were subsequent deadlines of 2020 and 2024. Earlier this year the Scottish government said it would launch the inshore consultation in November.

Seabed habitats in Scotland’s coastal marine protected areas are vital spawning and nursery grounds for many of the fish and shellfish on which coastal communities depend for their livelihoods. They absorb carbon which can help combat climate change. Inshore marine protected areas are also intended to protect wildlife including seabirds, whales and basking sharks.