Don’t miss the SEASOH final consultation!

If you could ask the sea a question what would it be?

Over the past three years we have sought communities' views on marine management, environmental protection and what would best suit us all for the future when it comes to Marine Protected Areas, or MPAs.*

Now, we at MarPAMM - Seas of the Outer Hebrides (SEASOH) are launching the final in-depth consultation of the project in the Outer Hebrides. (MarPAMM is a €6.4M EU INTERREG VA funded project, managed by the Special EU Programmes Body, to improve the monitoring and management of protected marine species and habitats in Northern Ireland, Ireland and western Scotland).

From what we have learned: from our 2020 survey (»)   ; from meetings with a dedicated focus group, and with fishing industry representatives, we have developed a community-led vision, four long-term objectives and ten linked recommendations for the management of MPAs. We would like to seek your feedback on these before presenting final project outcomes.

The consultation is running for 8 weeks from 31st May 2022. There is an online portal with information at our existing Storymap site at this link and a direct link to the consultation survey at this link

*MPAs are marine sites that are designated as protected for the benefit of all, and in the Outer Hebrides this includes a range of designation types, such as Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), Ramsar site, Special Area of Conservation (SAC) Special Protection Area (SPA), Site of Community Interest (SCI) and Nature Conservation Marine Protected Area (NCMPA). Lots more information about the MPAs of the Outer Hebrides and about MarPAMM - SEASOH can be found on our Storymap site and the MarPAMM website.

CONSULTATION LINK:

https://arcg.is/CXTeK

Notes to editors

The seven-partner MarPAMM project has been supported by the EU's INTERREG VA Programme, managed by the Special EU Programmes Body to develop tools for monitoring and managing a number of coastal marine environments in Ireland, Northern Ireland and Western Scotland.

MarPAMM is being delivered by statutory organisations from across Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland (Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute, Marine Scotland and NatureScot/Scottish Natural Heritage), academic institutions (University College Cork; Ulster University; Scottish Association for Marine Science) and a Non-Governmental Organisation with expertise in a relevant field (BirdWatch Ireland).

Seas of the Outer Hebrides (SEASOH) is delivered by partnership of Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, Marine Scotland, University of the Highlands and Islands and NatureScot (NatureScot is the new operating name of Scottish Natural Heritage).

The core aim of SEASOH is to deliver a regional management plan for the Outer Hebrides marine region, putting communities and people at the heart of the process and building consensus on the future management of Marine Protected Areas around the islands.