Whereas national marine planning will set the wider context for planning within Scotland, regional marine planning will allow more local ownership and decision making about the specific issues within a smaller area.
Following the introduction of the the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010, a system of regional marine plans are going to be developed for Scottish waters. However, before these plans can be developed, the different marine regions need to be established.
Under the Marine Act, Scottish Ministers were given the power to decide on the boundaries of Scottish marine regions and to delegate any regional planning to a nominated individual and either a public authority or a person nominated by a public authority.
A consultation, seeking views on how the Government should create these regions. took place in late 2010/early 2011. An analysis of responses was carried out and the report is now available online.