Our Shoreline National Park - within 3 miles of the shore.

Create a National Park of all of our shoreline extending out to 3 miles. This is the most vulnerable environment of all in our country. As with other national Parks, the status will not deny or stifle the livelihoods of those who work here, but it will enhance the opportunities for sympathetic work and leisure activities, while providing a statutory framework for controlling and eliminating harm to this environment from polluting activities of all descriptions such as agricultural run-off, industrial waste, fly-tipping, littering, etc.

Why the contribution is important

This idea avoids the piecemeal approach to marine conservation that has seen valuable but small scale interventions on behalf of our coastal environment. All of our coastline deserves care and protection. This would be a lasting legacy of our Year of Coasts and Waters, which might otherwise wither as a one-off event, when in fact its significance is a continuing one.

by scubie on May 14, 2022 at 08:47PM

Current Rating

Average rating: 4.2
Based on: 14 votes

Comments

  • Posted by CV May 18, 2022 at 10:06

    A shoreline national park around Scotland is a good idea - but as with land-based national parks it is vital that nature and climate change are the top priorities. Lamlash Bay, Arran and Lyme Bay Conservation Area are both good examples of how well this can work.

  • Posted by marzak May 24, 2022 at 13:32

    There is a tension between fishing as a source of employment and this suggestion that would require very careful management; also with tidal power/off shore wind schemes a possibility in some of the coastal areas that are also candidates for national park status. The policies would need to be very clear.

  • Posted by MarionRobertson May 24, 2022 at 14:32

    Regarding tension between ‘competing’ users of our increasingly ‘monetised’ coastal waters, in particular the nascent marine energy and inshore fishing industries, a wealth of direct experience of this has been gained & is ongoing in the Orkney islands where the European Marine Energy Centre has its base. The experience of fishers, island folk and the marine energy sector to date indicates that actively fostering an ethos of respect and transparency between all users, authorities and the environment (land, sea & seabed) is fundamental to and could be successful in achieving a sustainable future.

  • Posted by LeonardVaughn June 02, 2022 at 19:47

    +1 to CV’s comment above.

  • Posted by AndrewPym June 05, 2022 at 21:49

    It is encouraging that there is potential to include the sea within a new National Park. The coast is seen as a boundary but there is a very close relationship between the land and the water. Whilst a marine National Park will need to address many different issues, the coastal margins of the sea could usefully be part of a National Park. Galloway is well placed for such an initiative. It would be great for Galloway to be designated to the tide line and then for the Government to explore the extent to which the sea should be included.

     The Solway Firth, Wigtown Bay, Luce Bay, the waters around the Mull and the Rhinns, and the North Channel up to Ailsa Craig all border Galloway; and they add to the character and special qualities of the whole area.
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