Open Government Licence (OGL)

Regional Inshore Fisheries Groups (RIFGs) are bodies that aim to improve the management of Scotland's inshore fisheries (out to twelve nautical miles) and to give commercial inshore fishermen a strong voice in wider marine management developments. Originally six pilot IFGs were established in 2009 (covering the Outer Hebrides, the Clyde, the south east of Scotland, the north west, small isles and Mull, and Moray Firth) and each developed an inshore fisheries management plan for its area. This was followed in 2013 by six Inshore Fisheries Groups (IFGs) covering all of the Scottish coast (except Shetland which has its own management arrangements). The West Coast and North & East Coast RIFGs were established in April 2016 and replace the four IFGs that formerly covered the Scottish mainland coast.

This layer shows the RIFG network, which includes the West Coast, North & East Coast and Outer Hebrides RIFGs, along with the Orkney Management Group and Shetland Shellfish Management Organisation. 

In 2020, the scope of RIFGs was extended to the 12NM limit as part of the Future Fisheries Management (FFM) policy.

Approximate locations where chemical and conventional/explosive munitions were disposed at sea. As some data is derived from historical records, coordinates may be inaccurate. The location of phase 4 chemical disposal sites are unconfirmed. Includes data digitised from OSPAR,  Imperial College London, and Ministry of Defence reports.

The Scottish Coastal Forum was formed in 1996 to encourage debate at national level on coastal issues. Its members advise Marine Scotland, from an operational perspective, on the development of policy relating to marine planning and licensing within a sustainable marine environment. The Forum also provides a network for circulating information and best practice in coastal management amongst its own varied membership and the wider Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) community. As of December 2022, only five Local Coastal Partnerships are still active: East Grampian Coastal Partnership, Solway Firth Partnership, Tay Estuary Forum, Forth Estuary Forum, and Moray Firth Partnership.

The UK continental shelf is subdivided into eight areas for the purposes of Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA).

SEA is the process of appraisal through which environmental protection and sustainable development may be considered, and factored into national and local decisions regarding Government (and other) plans and programmes – such as oil and gas licensing rounds and other offshore energy developments, including renewables and gas and carbon dioxide storage.