SIFT welcomes the recent publication by Environmental Standards Scotland (ESS) of its report into Scottish Government Marine Directorate’s (SGMD) failure to ensure the Good Environmental Status (GES) of seabeds.SIFT is pleased that this report – which was prompted, in part, by the representation that SIFT submitted in 2024 into the shortcomings/failings of SGMD – recognised the validity of our concerns.For the first time SGMD has been given clear notice of the inadequacy of its approach.
ESS found that:
- On planning, Scottish Ministers have been ineffective in their implementation of environmental law; there is a lack of clarity on how Scottish measures, intended to support achievement of GES for benthic habitats, were identified or assessed in the 2015 and 2025 Programme of Measures (POMs). Specifically, there is no clear evidence that a gap analysis was undertaken to determine whether existing measures were sufficient to achieve GES. There is also no clear evidence that the technical feasibility or cost‑effectiveness of the relevant measures were assessed prior to operationalising either the 2015 or 2025 PoM.
- On monitoring, Scottish Ministers have failed to comply with environmental law; there are systemic shortfalls that have led to a sustained inability of Scottish monitoring programmes to provide information that enables a comprehensive, evidenced-based assessment of seafloor integrity status against GES targets.
- On implementation, Scottish Ministers have been ineffective in their implementation of environmental law; there have been repeated delays in implementation, and many measures remain only partially implemented. The Scottish Government’s approach to embedding the UK Marine Strategy into policy processes and seeking GES-related advice from Statutory Nature Conservation Bodies is inconsistent. ESS has concluded that governance challenges such as fragmented responsibilities, weak accountability, and insufficient integration of marine objectives across policy areas have affected delivery and achievement of GES for seafloor integrity.
SIFT believes that these findings represent a highly important step in the development of sustainable marine management in Scottish waters.
We will be following SGMD’s response to the report in the coming months and will be ensuring that the importance of this watershed moment is not overlooked by media, the Scottish Parliament and marine stakeholders.
Banner image: Howard Wood
