The National – 26th January 2026
“The Scottish Government is being urged to make a “simple but significant contribution” to tackling climate change by introducing new protections for sea lochs.
Labour MSP Sarah Boyack insisted Holyrood could “show leadership” by backing a move to ban dredging and trawling in key parts of the lochs – allowing them to continue to store substantial amounts of carbon.
Research has shown 84,000 tonnes of organic carbon is buried annually in the sediments of Scottish fjords – the name given by scientists to the sea lochs along the country’s coastline – which alone is as much as the North Sea can store.
They therefore form an important buffer against climate change, helping to remove carbon from the atmosphere. However, when dredged, the capacity to store this carbon is largely removed.
Boyack is bringing forward an amendment to the Scottish Government’s Natural Environment (Scotland) Bill – which faces its final key vote in Holyrood on Tuesday – to bring in the new protections.
She said: “Scottish ministers declared a climate emergency back in 2019. More than a decade has passed since the Scottish Government first mapped out the importance of our sea lochs for storing carbon. Why then has not a single square foot of sea yet been protected for this purpose?
“This is an opportunity for this country to show leadership. We cannot afford yet more ‘action plans’ which contain no actual action. Scotland can and must take care of our most important sea lochs for future generations.”…
The Sustainable Inshore Fisheries Trust (Sift) – which has previously pressed Scottish ministers to adopt such an approach – also backed Boyack’s amendment.
Charles Millar, Sift executive director, said: “We already have enough evidence to justify decisive action.
“Granting full protection for the carbon-rich areas within the heads of key sea lochs would lock up huge quantities of carbon.
“Nature is a crucial ally in the fight against climate change, and now Parliament has an opportunity to make Scotland a global leader in the protection of our seas so they can continue to limit climate breakdown.”
Millar continued: “Our sea lochs are globally significant, and I would hope Parliament can unite to keep them safe.
“Continued trawling would risk disturbing these relatively small but highly important areas of seabed, and closing them to the most disruptive forms of fishing is an urgently needed first step.” ”
