Election Results

The Scottish Government's HPMAs consultation paper, published in December 2022, sets out the Holyrood coalition's reasons for potentially bringing in HPMAs, including to "support the sustainable growth of the aquaculture sector" and to "protect and enhance marine ecosystems to ensure that they are healthy and resilient".

The Scottish Government's HPMAs consultation paper, published in December 2022, sets out the Holyrood coalition's reasons for potentially bringing in HPMAs, including to "support the sustainable growth of the aquaculture sector" and to "protect and enhance marine ecosystems to ensure that they are healthy and resilient". This is in addition to a Holyrood paper published in December 2021 which outlines the plan for Scotland to designate a "world-leading suite" which "exceeds the commitment to ‘strict protection’ by 2030 made in the EU biodiversity strategy by achieving this by 2026 for inshore waters". But Douglas Chirnside and Hans Unkles, who have fished the Sound of Jura waters between Carsaig pier near Tayvallich and the north end of Jura for the past four decades - both creel fishing and hand-diving for shellfish - are worried that the plans are being rushed through without proper consultation of people, like them, who work in the area.