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Conservation group Oceana wants bottom-towed fishing gear banned in the country’s marine protected areas (MPAs). The group claimed that about 300 large bottom-trawlers and dredgers “plough Scotland’s protected seabed on a near-daily basis”.
All but two of Scotland’s 24 offshore MPAs were damaged by the practice during more than 44,000 fishing hours recorded last year, it claimed.
Only the deep-sea Hatton-Rockall Basin and Hatton Bank MPAs, far off the west coast, were left untouched, it said.
Melissa Moore, head of UK policy at Oceana, said: “We are calling on Scottish ministers to take urgent action to ban bottom-towed fishing gear in all of Scotland’s MPAs and reinstate the three nautical mile inshore trawl and dredge ban.
“As well as being destructive, continued licensing of this activity is illegal under marine wildlife laws.
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“We hope Scotland’s government recognises the severity of the climate and nature emergency we’re facing, shows leadership, and bans bottom trawlers from all of Scotland’s protected areas.
“This will safeguard biodiversity, and ensure vast stores of blue carbon remain safely in the deep oceans.”
Oceana said 69 inshore MPAs were intensely disturbed during fishing.
It made the plea as an alliance of more than 100 organisations demanded trawlers be banned from fishing within three miles of Scotland’s coasts.
Members of the Our Seas coalition suggested a “modernised” three-mile limit is “not a radical measure” and would benefit both the environment and coastal communities.
A previous ban on trawling the seabed within three miles of the coast was repealed by the UK Government in 1984.
Coalition co-ordinator Ailsa McLellan claimed this “led to what academics called ‘ecological meltdown”‘.
Both issues come as talks continue between the Scottish Government and the Scottish Greens over a formal co-operation agreement.
The Scottish First Minister needs their support to push a vote through Holyrood on a second independence referendum.
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