Company comment

Through the Bute House Agreement, Scottish Ministers committed to designate at least 10% of Scotland’s seas as Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMAs); sites that will place strict limits on key commercial activities such as fishing and aquaculture, as well as recreational activities.

In December 2022, the Scottish Government opened a consultation to seek views on these proposals.

The response has seen everyone from fishermen’s associations, salmon farmers and shellfish producers through to local councils, community trusts, MSPs and MPs raise their concerns.

In other words, the very people who live and work in the island and coastal communities that would be most directly affected by the tough restrictions and who already take great care to protect the natural assets they are so reliant upon.

Below you will find Scottish Sea Farms’ draft response to the consultation, now closed, which sets out why we strongly oppose the proposals and why.

Alternatively, you can read more about the Scottish Government’s controversial HPMA proposals and what they would mean for Scotland’s remote communities in the June 2023 issue of The Source (p5) by clicking here.