Protected marine zone proposals pose ‘existential threat’ to island life

Councillors have made it clear that Orkney Islands Council will oppose new protected marine zones off its coastline that would significantly affect jobs and community life.

They pledged to use the law, if necessary, to prevent what one member described as an “existential threat” to small inland fisheries in the islands.

The Scottish Government has not earmarked any sites in its intention to create Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMAs) in at least ten per cent of Scottish seas by 2026.

Aligning themselves with their counterparts in Shetland and the Western Isles, Orkney councillors on Tuesday made clear their discontent with how the proposal has emerged from Holyrood.

Members of the policy and resources committee voted to beef up the draft official response to the consultation on the HPMAs.

Read more in The Orcadian this week.