The Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 (asp 5) is an act of the Scottish Parliament which provides a framework which will help balance competing demands on Scotland's seas. It introduces a duty to protect and enhance the marine environment and includes measures to help boost economic investment and growth in areas such as marine energy.
Provisions The main measures include:
Marine planning: a new statutory marine planning system to sustainably manage the increasing, and often conflicting, demands on our seas Marine licensing: a simpler licensing system, minimising the number of licences required for development in the marine environment to cut bureaucracy and encourage economic investment Marine protection areas: strengthened marine nature and historic conservation with new powers to protect and manage areas of importance for marine wildlife, habitats and historic monuments Conservation: significantly strengthened protection for seals and a new comprehensive licence system to ensure appropriate management when necessary Enforcement: a range of enhanced powers of marine conservation and licensing
Reception The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, welcomed the new law but also called for it to be strengthened.
See also Scottish Adjacent Waters Boundaries Order 1999 Marine Directorate, the Scottish Government's marine management directorate List of acts of the Scottish Parliament from 2010 Marine protected area (MPA) Conservation biology Fisheries management, fish farms Marine conservation World Commission on Protected Areas Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009, covering England and Wales
Notes
References
External links Text of the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk. Text of the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 as originally enacted or made within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk. Marine and Fisheries pages Scottish Government website