The Scottish Government's Marine Directorate () is a directorate of the Scottish Government responsible for managing Scotland's seas and

freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. The term excludes seawater and brackish water, but it does include non-salty mi ...

fisheries Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life or, more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a., fishing grounds). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farm ...

along with delivery partners

NatureScot NatureScot () is an Scottish public bodies#Executive NDPBs, executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government responsible for Scotland’s natural heritage, especially its nature, natural, genetics, genetic and scenic diversity. ...

and the

Scottish Environment Protection Agency The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA; ) is Scotland's Environmental regulation, environmental regulator and national flood forecasting, flood warning and strategic flood risk management authority. From April 2009 until June 2023, the directorate was known as Marine Scotland. The Marine Directorate provides management and research of

devolved Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territories ...

responsibilities such as: * Licensing of marine activities. * Sea fisheries. *

Salmon Salmon (; : salmon) are any of several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera ''Salmo'' and ''Oncorhynchus'' of the family (biology), family Salmonidae, native ...

and

recreational fishing Recreational fishing, also called sport fishing or game fishing, is fishing for leisure, exercise or competition. It can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is occupational fishing activities done for profit; or subsistence fishing, ...

. * Marine renewable energy. *

Marine conservation Marine conservation, also known as ocean conservation, is the protection and preservation of ecosystems in oceans and seas through planned management in order to prevent the over-exploitation of these marine resources. Marine conservation is i ...

. *

Marine spatial planning Marine spatial planning (MSP) also known interchangeably as Maritime Spatial Planning, is an ocean management instrument which aids policy-makers and stakeholders in compartmentalizing sea basins within state jurisdiction according to social, ecolo ...

. *

Scientific research The scientific method is an empirical method for acquiring knowledge that has been referred to while doing science since at least the 17th century. Historically, it was developed through the centuries from the ancient and medieval world. The ...

including sea and freshwater fisheries. *

Enforcement Enforcement is the proper execution of the process of ensuring compliance with laws, regulations, rules, standards, and social norms. Governments attempt to effectuate successful implementation of policies by enforcing laws and regulations. En ...

of marine and fisheries law.

History

The Marine Directorate was established on 1 April 2009, merging two

executive agencies An executive agency is a part of a government department that is treated as managerially and budgetarily separate, to carry out some part of the executive functions of the United Kingdom government, Scottish Government, Welsh Government or Nort ...

(

Fisheries Research Services Fisheries Research Services (FRS) was an Executive Agency of the Scottish Government. FRS was responsible for scientific and technical research into the marine and freshwater fisheries and aquaculture, and the protection of the aquatic enviro ...

and the

Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency The Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency (SFPA) was an Executive Agency of the Scottish Government. On 1 April 2009, the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency and Fisheries Research Services were merged with the Scottish Government Marine Dire ...

) and the

Scottish Government The Scottish Government (, ) is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was formed in 1999 as the Scottish Executive following the 1997 referendum on Scottish devolution, and is headquartered at St Andrew's House in ...

marine and fishery policy divisions.

Staff, assets and budget

The Marine Directorate has around 700 staff, covering a range of professions including scientists, sea fishery officers, sailors, policy, administrative and professional/ technical staff.

Locations and Assets

Ensign of the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency

Staff are located across Scotland including : * Major Scottish Government offices, for example Victoria Quay and Atlantic Quay. * The marine laboratory in

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

. * Freshwater laboratories at Faskally and Montrose. * Fishery offices at

Eyemouth Eyemouth is a town and civil parishes in Scotland, civil parish in Berwickshire, in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. It is east of the main north–south A1 road (Great Britain), A1 road and north of Berwick-upon-Tweed. The town's name ...

Anstruther Anstruther ( ; ) is a coastal town in Fife, Scotland, situated on the north-shore of the Firth of Forth and south-southeast of St Andrews. The town comprises two settlements, Anstruther Easter and Anstruther Wester, which are divided by a st ...

Peterhead Peterhead (; , ) is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is the council area's largest settlement, with a population of 19,060 at the 2022 Census for Scotland, 2022 Census. It is the largest fishing port in the United Kingdom for total landi ...

Fraserburgh Fraserburgh (; ), locally known as the Broch, is a town in Aberdeenshire (unitary), Aberdeenshire, Scotland, with a population recorded in the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census as 13,100. It lies in Buchan in the northeastern corner of th ...

Buckie Buckie () is a burgh town (defined as such in List of burghs in Scotland, 1888) on the Moray Firth coast of Scotland. Counties of Scotland, Historically in Banffshire, Buckie was the largest town in the county until the administrative area was ...

Kirkwall Kirkwall (, , or ; ) is the largest town in Orkney, an archipelago to the north of mainland Scotland. First mentioned in the ''Orkneyinga saga'', it is today the location of the headquarters of the Orkney Islands Council and a transport hub wi ...

Lerwick Lerwick ( or ; ; ) is the main town and port of the Shetland archipelago, Scotland. Shetland's only burgh, Lerwick had a population of about 7,000 residents in 2010. It is the northernmost major settlement within the United Kingdom. Centred ...

Scrabster Scrabster () is a small settlement on Thurso Bay in Caithness on the north coast of Scotland. It is some from Thurso, from Wick, from Inverness and 271.7 miles (437.2 km) from Edinburgh. Scrabster Harbour is an important port for the ...

Kinlochbervie Kinlochbervie (, ) is a scattered harbour village in the north west of Sutherland, in the Highland region of Scotland. It is the most northerly port on the west coast of Scotland. Geography Sandwood Bay, a scenic beach, is about a drive or a ...

Lochinver Lochinver (''Loch an Inbhir'' in Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic) is a village at the head of the sea loch Loch Inver, on the coast in the Assynt district of Sutherland, Scottish Highlands, Highland, Scotland. A few miles north-east is Loch Assynt which ...

Ullapool Ullapool (; ) is a village and port located in the civil parish of Lochbroom in the county of Ross and Cromarty, Scottish Highlands. It is located around northwest of Inverness. According to the Scottish Government in 2016, the village had a ...

Stornoway Stornoway (; ) is the main town, and by far the largest, of the Outer Hebrides (or Western Isles), and the capital of Lewis and Harris in Scotland. The town's population is around 6,953, making it the third-largest island town in Scotlan ...

Portree Portree (; , ) is the capital and largest town of the Isle of Skye in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland.W.H. Murray, Murray, W.H. (1966) ''The Hebrides''. London. Heinemann. Pages 154-155. It is a civil parishes in Scotland, civil parish and lies ...

Mallaig Mallaig (; ) is a seaport, port in Morar, on the west coast of the Scottish Highlands, Highlands of Scotland. It faces Skye from across the Sound of Sleat. The Mallaig railway station, local railway station is the terminus of the West Highlan ...

Oban Oban ( ; meaning ''The Little Bay'') is a resort town within the Argyll and Bute council area of Scotland. Despite its small size, it is the largest town between Helensburgh and Fort William, Highland, Fort William. During the tourist seaso ...

Campbeltown Campbeltown (; or ) is a town and former royal burgh in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It lies by Campbeltown Loch on the Kintyre Peninsula. Campbeltown became an important centre for Scotch whisky, and a busy fishing port. The 2018 populatio ...

, and

Ayr Ayr ( ; ; , meaning "confluence of the River Àir"), is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. A former royal burgh, today it is the administrative centre of South Ayrshire Council, and the historic county town of Ayrshire. With ...

Marine Research Vessels

The Marine Directorate operates two main research vessels which are fitted with a wide range of deployment and recovery facilities for fishing gear and equipment, scientific and environmental sensors, and data gathering systems: *MRV ''Scotia'' (launched: 1998, length: 68.6 meters, service speed: 13 knots) * (launched: 2008, length: 27 meters, cruise speed: 8 knots) Additionally, MRV ''Temora'' (launched: 1992, length: 10 meters, max speed: 10 knots) is used for sampling as part of the Long Term Climate Change Monitoring Programme.

Marine Protection Vessels

The Marine Directorate operates three Marine Protection Vessels (MPVs): *MPV ''Minna'' (launched: 2003, length: 42 meters, top speed: 14 knots, tonnage: 718 g.r.t.) *MPV ''Jura'' (launched: 2005, length: 84 meters, top speed: 18 knots, tonnage: 2,181 g.r.t.) *MPV ''Hirta'' (launched: 2008, length: 84 meters, top speed: 18 knots, tonnage: 2,181 g.r.t.)

Surveillance Aircraft

The Marine Directorate owns two Reims Cessna F-406 Caravan II aircraft for aerial surveillance, operated by Airtask.

UK Fisheries Monitoring Centre

The Marine Directorate operates the UK Fisheries Monitoring Centre (UKFMC), on behalf of the four UK fisheries administrations. The UKFMC acts as the UK single-point-of-contact for manual reporting of ERS, VMS and other EU/national fisheries schemes.

Divisions

Director's Office

Iain Wallace is Director of the Marine Directorate. The Director's Office provides corporate services such as

business management Business administration is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. Overview The administration of a business includes the performance o ...

communications Communication is commonly defined as the transmission of information. Its precise definition is disputed and there are disagreements about whether Intention, unintentional or failed transmissions are included and whether communication not onl ...

information quality Information quality (IQ) is the quality of the content of information systems. It is often pragmatically defined as: "The fitness for use of the information provided". IQ frameworks also provides a tangible approach to assess and measure DQ/IQ in a ...

data management Data management comprises all disciplines related to handling data as a valuable resource, it is the practice of managing an organization's data so it can be analyzed for decision making. Concept The concept of data management emerged alongsi ...

statistics Statistics (from German language, German: ', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that concerns the collection, organization, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of data. In applying statistics to a s ...

socio-economic Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analys ...

and geographic analysis.

Compliance

The Compliance division monitors and enforces marine and sea fishing laws in Scottish waters. It reports as appropriate to the Scottish prosecuting authorities and provides

intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. It can be described as t ...

on fishing activity in the seas around Scotland.

Science

The Marine Directorate's Science division undertakes research and provides scientific and technical advice to the Scottish Government (and the UK and

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

authorities) on a number of marine and fisheries issues including aquaculture and fish health,

freshwater fish Freshwater fish are fish species that spend some or all of their lives in bodies of fresh water such as rivers, lakes, ponds and inland wetlands, where the salinity is less than 1.05%. These environments differ from marine habitats in many wa ...

eries, sea fisheries and the

marine ecosystem Marine ecosystems are the largest of Earth's aquatic ecosystems and exist in Saline water, waters that have a high salt content. These systems contrast with freshwater ecosystems, which have a lower salt content. Marine waters cover more than 7 ...

in Scotland's seas.

Marine Planning & Policy (MPP)

The Marine Directorate's Planning & Policy division covers three main policy areas and the Licensing Operations Team (LOT).

Marine Spatial Planning

The Marine Directorate is involved in marine spatial planning at both at a national and regional level. Scotland'
Marine Atlas
was published in 2011 as a baseline assessment, with Scotland's firs
National Marine Plan
published in 2015. The information from the Atlas and National Marine Plan is available throug
maps.marine.gov.scot(NMPi)
an
marine.gov.scot
portals. These portals form part of the Marine Scotland Open Data Network which contributes towards Marine Scotland's

INSPIRE Inspiration, inspire, INSPIRE, or inspired commonly refers to: * Artistic inspiration, sudden creativity in artistic production * Biblical inspiration, a Christian doctrine on the origin of the Bible * Inhalation, breathing in Inspiration and rel ...

and open data obligations

Offshore Marine Renewables

The Scottish Government is developing plans for offshore wind, wave and tidal energy in Scottish waters. The Marine Directorate will explore how offshore wind, wave and tidal energy can contribute to meeting Scotland's target of generating the equivalent of 100% of electricity demand from renewable sources and also seek to maximise the contribution of these technologies to achieving a

low-carbon economy A low-carbon economy (LCE) is an economy which absorbs as much greenhouse gas as it emits. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions due to human activity are the dominant cause of observed climate change since the mid-20th century. There are many proven ...

Marine Conservation

The Marine Directorate follows a strategy for Marine Nature Conservation in Scotland's Seas based on the three pillars of species conservation, site protection, and wider seas policies and measures. Work continues on a

Marine Protected Area A marine protected area (MPA) is a protected area of the world's seas, oceans, estuaries or in the US, the Great Lakes. These marine areas can come in many forms ranging from wildlife refuges to research facilities. MPAs restrict human activity ...

network with 30 nature conservation MPAs designated in 2014.

Licensing Operations Team (LOT)

The Marine Directorate Licensing Operations team is a central point-of-contact for activities such as depositing or removing objects or substances from the seabed; construction or alteration works, dredging; depositing or using explosives.

Aquaculture and Recreational Fisheries (ARF)

The ARF division handles policy areas covering Aquaculture, Salmon & Recreational Fisheries, Fishery Grants, Post-EU Referendum (Brexit) and the Crown Estate in Scotland.

Sea Fisheries

The Sea Fisheries division handles policy areas covering Access to Sea Fisheries, EU Quota Negotiations and Discards, Inshore Fisheries and Coastal Communities, and International Fisheries and Environmental Interactions.

References

External links

*
The fleet of Marine Protection Vessels of Marine ScotlandMarine and Fisheries in ScotlandMarine (Scotland) Act 2010Marine Scotland Vision
{{Authority control Directorates of the Scottish Government 2009 establishments in Scotland Scottish coast Conservation in Scotland Environment of Scotland Fishing in Scotland Government research Law enforcement agencies of Scotland