COAST campaign achieves success! |
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Marine Protection Areas
The collapse of fisheries led to the realisation that traditional forms of fishery management were not working, and that new solutions had to be found. As a result, Marine Protected Areas and ‘No Take Zones’ have become a major topic of marine ecology.
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COAST (Community of Arran Seabed Trust) is a local, community based organisation with the objective of making the whole of Lamlash Bay on the Isle of Arran, a Marine Protected Area. The north end of the Bay would be designated a ‘No Take Zone’ meaning that nothing could be caught or extracted from that area by anyone. The rest of the Bay would be designated as an area from which commercial dredging and trawling would be prohibited. Scientific monitoring and analysis would be used to determine the success of the project, over a trial period. By protecting this area of seabed COAST hope to show that important species such as maerl and seagrass will flourish and commercial species such as scallops will regenerate. COAST wish to raise awareness and understanding of this beautiful and fascinating aspect of Arran’s natural heritage whilst raising the profile of community lead marine conservation both in Arran and across Scotland. For further information visit www.arrancoast.co.uk or e.mail secretary@arrancoast.co.uk |
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