The approval of the Marine (Scotland) Act in 2010 introduced a new era for the management of Scotland's seas. One of the key elements of the Act is the marine planning provisions, which will allow better management of the competing demands on marine resources more effectively.
The National Marine Plan, due out for Consultation in Spring 2011, will set out the strategic objectives for the Scottish marine area including important marine activities such as renewable energy, aquaculture, conservation, recreation and tourism, ports, harbours and shipping, etc.
However, it was agreed that in order to take forward the objectives that the National Plan will present, smaller Scottish Marine Regions need be created to allow planning to take place at a local level, once the characteristics for establishing their boundaries is determined.
A consultation, seeking views on how the Government should create these regions, took place in late 2010/early 2011 and responses are now available online.
To accompany the consultation, a layered .pdf document (illustrated on the right) was created to show a number of different factors, including Local Authority Aquaculture Marine Planning Zones, Local Coastal Partnerships, Ferry Routes and Trunk Roads.
To view each of the layers in the .pdf:
- Click on "View" in the toolbar oat the top of the page
- Scroll down to "Navigation Panels" and select "Layers"
To remove or add any of the layers, click on the icon that looks like an eye to the left of the layer descriptions.