Scottish Marine Bill

The Scottish Parliament’s Rural Affairs and Environment Committee is seeking views on the general principles of the Marine (Scotland) Bill " .

The Bill was introduced to the Scottish Parliament on 29 April 2009 and it is expected that the Rural Affairs and Environment Committee will be designated lead Committee for scrutiny of the Bill.

The Bill seeks to create “a framework to manage growing and competing demands for the use of marine resources in the seas around Scotland, balancing environmental and socio-economic considerations to maximise economic growth within sustainable environmental limits”.

Policy intentions covered by the Bill include:

the creation of a statutory marine planning framework featuring national and regional structures and a National Marine Plan that will identify objectives and priorities for the marine environment. This is intended to include planning at a local level;
the streamlining of marine licensing and marine consents. Provisions identify licensable marine activities, and the licensing process, including specific factors to be taken into account during the determination of licence applications;
the establishment of Marine Protected Areas and the introduction of Marine Conservation Orders; and
the introduction of a licence regime for the management of seals. Stage 1 scrutiny of the Bill At stage 1 of the Bill process, the Committee is concerned with the general principles of the Bill.

The Committee hopes to hold evidence sessions to inform its scrutiny of the general principles of the Bill during May, June and September 2009.

To inform evidence sessions, the Committee has issued this call for written views inviting individuals and interested parties for comment on the stated purposes of the Bill and their likely impact.

The Committee would welcome submissions from individuals and organisations that clearly and concisely highlight views on the broad thrust of the policy proposals and flag up any particular areas of concern. Additionally, the Committee would be interested to hear about any issues that respondents feel may have been omitted from the Bill or any alternative approaches to managing the marine environment other than those proposed by the Bill.

Comments do not have to cover all aspects of the Bill, only those proposals which are of interest or concern. How to submit your written views. Before making a submission, please read their policy for handling information received (pdf 15kb).

The closing date for written submissions is Thursday 11 June 2009.

Owing to the timescale required to process and analyse submissions, late submissions will only be accepted with the prior agreement of the Convener.

The Committee prefers to receive written submissions electronically in word format, and ideally submissions should be no more than 4 pages (A4) long.

These should be sent to: rae.committee@scottish.parliament.uk

You may also make hard copy written submissions to: Rural Affairs and Environment Committee Room T1.01, The Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh EH99 1SP

If you catch a tagged fish

Please leave the tag in the fish.

Note the telephone number or address on the tag and write down the number of the tag. If you have a suitable sling and scales then take the measurements and weigh the fish.

Please keep the fish in water as much as possible.

And don’t forget Log the data here.

Shark papers by Lauren Smith

On the BBC & ITV

and Gordon Goldie gives an interview here on ITV.

During Sharkatag 2010 the CBBC / BBC Newsround programme did a item with Kiera Merrifield and Bradley Burrett – see it at CBBC / BBC website

The Scottish Sea Angling Conservation Network

The SSTP is part of the the Scottish Sea Angling Conservation Network, an independent Charity registered in Scotland which was created to focus on conservation issues in the marine environment and in particular those affecting sea anglers.