Marine

Consultation on ‘Proposed Fisheries Management Measures in Scottish Inshore Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and Proposed Priority Marine Features (PMF) Management Areas’

September 14, 2026 by MS Communications No Comments | Category Marine Environment, Marine Planning, Marine Protection, Uncategorized

The Scottish Government is pleased to announce that the consultation on proposed fisheries management measures for inshore Marine Protected Areas (MPA) and proposed Priority Marine Feature (PMF) management areas in Scottish waters was launched on Monday 14 September 2026. 

Link to Citizen Space consultation platform:  

Proposed Fisheries Management Measures in Scottish Inshore Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and Proposed Priority Marine Feature (PMF) Management Areas.

This consultation seeks views on proposed fisheries management measures that will be put in place for inshore MPAs that still require these and the 11 PMFs most sensitive to bottom-contacting mobile fishing gears, which are habitats and species of national conservation importance.   

The development of these proposals has been informed by years of stakeholder engagement, scientific evidence gathering and discussion with representatives from the fishing industry, environmental organisations, coastal communities, local authorities, and other interested parties.  

Given the scale and complexity of the proposals, covering more than 160 sites and areas across Scotland’s inshore waters, the consultation has been extended beyond the standard 12-week duration and will run until 18 January 2027, going beyond the intended sixteen week period due to the festive period.  

This extended consultation will provide the people of Scotland additional time to consider the evidence, reflect on the proposals, and provide informed views to help shape the future management of Scotland’s seas. 

Responding to the Consultation  

A helpful explainer video on how to navigate the consultation using the Geospatial Tool has been created as guide: MPA and PMF Consultation Explainer Video 

The consultation can be responded to in English or in Gaelic. Gaelic versions of the Consultation paper and Island Communities Impact Assessment (ICIA) are available on the consultation homepage. 

As part of a response, if you need to submit further data, evidence or additional information, this can be sent to Marine_Biodiversity@gov.scot mailbox where it will be added to the respondents consultation response. If you can provide your unique consultation response ID when doing so ensures it can be added to your response. 

If you require any help or assistance in responding to the consultation, please email the mailbox: Marine_Biodiversity@gov.scot 

Consultation Drop-In and Online Sessions 

We are running a series of online and in-person sessions to support people to respond to this consultation. These sessions will tell you more about this consultation, and offer support with responding to it. You will also have the opportunity to ask questions. You will still need to respond to the consultation for your voice to be heard. 

We would encourage all feedback on the proposals to be responded to within the consultation.  

Consultation Drop-In Sessions 

The in-person sessions are being held with a ‘drop-in’ format. This means you can come at any time during the session and stay for as long as you wish. These sessions are being held in 26 different locations across Scotland. 

At these sessions you will be able to ask questions about the assessments and other consultation documents. We will also be able to help you understand how to respond to the consultation. These sessions will be focused on protected areas near to the location the session is held in, but if you have an interest in sites and areas elsewhere you are welcome to ask about them. 

You do not need to sign up to these sessions in advance. All persons are welcome to attend.  

Most sessions will be operating between 2-5pm and 7-9pm.  

Please note, that some locations and times may be subject to change and are weather dependent, due to associated travel.  

To see any changes to these sessions, check back in on this Marine Blog or email the mailbox: Marine_biodiversity@gov.scot  

Online Sessions 

At the online sessions we will deliver a brief presentation explaining how the consultation works, information on the proposals and documents and how you can give your responses. At the end of the session, we will be available to take questions.   

These sessions will be held in Microsoft Teams. You do not need an account to join these sessions. You can join these sessions from the browser on a computer or a phone. If joining from a phone it is recommended you download the Microsoft Teams app for free. You will not need to have your camera on in these sessions, although Marine Directorate representatives will.  

Some online sessions are focused on a specific region, to support people with an interest in proposed fisheries management options or priority marine features in that area. This means the content of the session will be tailored to that region. There will be limited time to discuss other regions or wider matters in these sessions.  

A young person specific session is also allocated to encourage engagement. The date and time for this will be available shortly. 

The online sessions are limited to a maximum of 20 people. This means you will need to sign up in advance and is on a first-come basis.  

You can sign up using the links above.  

Please check your registration confirmation in your spam/ junk mailbox and accept any calendar reminder prompts.   

The Scottish Government takes data protection seriously and personal information collected as part of the online session registration will only be used for this purpose. All information will be handled, stored and destroyed securely following the session. For engagement analysis a generalised list of how many people attended each session and from which stakeholder category (public or organisation) may be gathered to inform future engagement management.   

Participation and Involvement Protocol  

At consultation drop-in and online sessions, the Scottish Government will operate these sessions under a ‘Participation and Involvement Protocol’. This sets out the principles of engagement, code of conduct and how disputes and disagreements will be resolved.  

We understand that many will feel passionately about this consultation and the impacts it may have on individuals. We believe that all correspondents and complaints have the right to be heard, understood and respected. We also believe that our Scottish Government and NatureScot staff have the same rights.  

Therefore, if there are unacceptable behaviour or actions of individuals that make it impossible for us to continue any constructive engagement this will be managed accordingly. Violence towards or abuse towards our staff will never be tolerated. Please see the Scottish Government unacceptable actions policy for further advice.  

Principles of Engagement  

Consultation drop-in and online sessions are open to a range of attendees including the public, industry, environmental organisations, science, public bodies, local authorities, and government. The principles of engagement set out below apply to all attendees.   

The success of these sessions are based on trust and mutual respect between its participants.  

Code of Conduct  

• Everyone has the opportunity to contribute fully, raising all their views or reservations, ask for help and guidance or questions.  

• Everybody behaves respectfully towards each other. All are given the chance to speak without interruption or derision.  

• Swearing and shouting will not be tolerated. All comments or questions are asked in a polite and civil manner, without raised voices.  

• Comments are not attributed to individuals, and it is a ‘no blame’ environment.  

• Undertake no PR, social media activity related to drop in or online sessions 

• Recording of the online or drop-in sessions will not be permitted by any means, including video, audio or using AI technologies.  

• We will not tolerate any threat or use of physical violence against, or verbal abuse or harassment of, our staff. Such actions may be reported to the police, and will always be reported if physical violence is used or threatened. 

Disputes / disagreements  

• In the event of differences of views the final decision rests with the Scottish Government and NatureScot and may result in removal from the session or termination of the session.  

• All participants will be able to state their views in the formal consultation or in written communication to the Marine Biodiversity mailbox:  

(Marine_Biodiversity@gov.scot). 

Failure to adhere to the terms of the protocol may result in you being removed from the session and prohibited from participating in future sessions 

In attending the consultation drop in and online sessions, you consent to the protocol above. 

Further information, advice and contact details.  

Contact:  

Scottish Government, Marine Directorate 

Victoria Quay,  

Edinburgh,
EH6 6QQ 

Email: Marine_Biodiversity@gov.scot  

Website: Marine environment – gov.scot 

Follow us:  

• Marine Directorate Image Bank | Flickr 

• Marine Directorate – YouTube 

• Scottish Government’s Marine Directorate | LinkedIn 

• Scot Gov Marine (@ScotGovMarine) / X 

• Marine Marine – Scottish Government Blog 

Weblinks: 

• Draft Equality Impact Assessment. 

• Links to the layers on National Marine Plan interactive (NMPi): 

• Option 1 – proposed PMF management areas (These can be downloaded from NMPi) 

• Option 2 proposed PMF management areas (These can be downloaded from NMPi 

Tags: MPAs, PMFs

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