Priority Marine Features (PMF) consultation - July 2018

In April 2017 a flame shell bed was damaged by scallop dredging activity in Loch Carron, and resulted in the designation of the Loch Carron MPA.  This prompted a project to ensure that the necessary steps were taken to ensure that Priority Marine Features (PMFs) were being protected in accordance with the National Marine Plan.

Most proposed seabed activities are subject to a licensing process in which the environmental impact assessments consider impacts on PMFs. There is no equivalent mechanism for fisheries.  Marine Scotland commissioned SNH to identify locations where there is a need to consider additional management for bottom contacting mobile fishing gears to ensure there is no significant impact on the national status of PMFs within the 6 nautical mile (NM) limit.

The principal aim of the project was to ensure that the necessary fisheries management measures were in place to ensure protection of PMFs, and comply with the relevant policy in the National Marine Plan.  Marine Scotland and Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) identified 11 habitats, of the 81 habitats and species on the current PMF list, which were particularly sensitive to impact from bottom contacting mobile fishing gears.

The 11 PMFs are: Blue mussel beds; Cold water coral reefs; Fan mussel aggregations; Flame shell beds; Horse mussel beds; Maerl beds; Maerl or coarse shell gravel with burrowing sea cucumbers; Native oysters; Northern sea fan and sponge communities; Seagrass beds; Serpulid aggregations.  MS Maps NMPi hosts maps layers for these PMFs as web map services (WMS) from SNH (search MS Maps NMPi for each PMF name).