Fishing interests in the south west are being urged to get behind a petition urging the Scottish Government to drop plans to designate at least 10 per cent of the country’s seas as highly protected marine areas (HMPAs).
The campaign calls for the controversial policy – which would ban all types of fishing in the protected zones – to be ditched.
The petition was launched at Holyrood on Thursday – with Kirkcudbright-based West Coast Sea Products general manager Stuart King among those gathering support.
Mr King met fellow colleagues as well as senior figures from the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation to urge the Scottish Government to scrap the scheme.
Speaking outside parliament, he said: “I hope the message finally gets through to the Scottish Government that if its proposal goes ahead then it will spell disaster for the fishing industry.
“They need to listen to the people whose livelihoods are firmly on the line and what a devastating impact it will have on many of the communities including the Solway.”
Galloway and West Dumfries MSP Finlay Carson is backing the protest – and pointed out marine protection areas (MPAs) already cover a significant proportion of Scottish waters.
He said: “The policy to designate another 10 per cent of Scotland’s waters as HPMAs comes from the Green manifesto, without any justification for the 10 per cent figure or clear environmental assessment.
“Existing MPAs already contribute to the 37 per cent of Scottish waters which are restricted or protected in some way.
“The protections in place are based on the scientific evidence of how much fishing can take place.
“I believe the Scottish Government should be listening to our coastal communities, rather than the Greens, and go back to the drawing board with these proposals.”
