A survey in the seas off Wester Ross revealed the new habitat, which the Scottish Wildlife Trust says strengthens the case for large areas of the Wester Ross Marine Protected Areas (MPA) to be closed to potentially damaging fishing activity, such as scallop dredging and bottom trawling.
Alex Kinninmonth, living seas policy officer, Scottish Wildlife Trust, said: “The survey has proved to be very important as current Scottish Government proposals will leave many of these newly discovered maerl beds unprotected from damaging fishing methods like dredging.”
“Now that these fragile habitats are on the map they must be included in protection plans. It also serves as a reminder that there are still big gaps in our knowledge of the seabed, and so there is a clear need for a more precautionary approach to protecting it,” he added.
Maerl, which is known as one of Scotland’s hidden treasures, can form extensive purple-pink carpets on the seabed, creating the ideal nursery habitat for marine life including young cod, scallops and crabs. However, the Trust says maerl is extremely vulnerable to disturbance and as it grows very slowly – around 1mm per year – meaning these beds would take many decades to recover from damage.
The Scottish Wildlife Trust carried out the survey earlier this month in collaboration with Fauna & Flora International and members of the local community. Evidence of maerl beds and other seabed habitats was captured using Marine Scotland funded underwater camera equipment and expertise provided by Scottish Natural Heritage.
The Wester Ross MPA was created earlier this year for the protection of important seabed habitats including maerl beds, kelp forests and flame shell beds. Under the terms of the protected area, maerl beds in the Wester Ross MPA must be managed to allow for their recovery, as their condition is known to be poor.
The Scottish Government is currently consulting on plans to prohibit fishing activity - including scallop dredging and bottom trawling - on certain seafloor habitats within the Wester Ross MPA and other MPAs in Scottish coastal seas.
In a bid to ensure that MPAs get the management they require, the Scottish Wildlife Trust has joined forces with other environmental NGOs to urge the public to tell the Scottish Government – “Don’t Take the P, out of MPAs”.
