A new assessment reveals that carbon-rich seabed habitats are continuing to decline on the west coast, prompting calls for urgent action by the Our Seas coalition.

According to the Scottish Marine Assessment 2020, many hectares of habitats around Scotland’s coasts have been lost in the last ten years alone.

A campaign to recover the health of Scotland’s coastal seas has now gathered momentum with over 90 concerned organisations and local businesses calling on the Scottish Government to take urgent action to halt and reverse the damage being done to inshore seabeds by bottom-towed fishing gear.

The coalition wants a reinstatement of an inshore limit on bottom-trawling to recover the health of fish populations.

The Argyll marine region has lost over half of its known flame shell reefs and 35 per cent of its serpulid (a type of marine worm) aggregations, whilst the Clyde region has lost 9.1 per cent of its flame shell reefs and 9.9 per cent of its maerl beds.

Members of Our Seas coalition argue that recovery of fish populations and habitats is impossible unless the causes of those declines are addressed by the Scottish Government.

The Community of Arran Seabed Trust (COAST) are coalition members and Jenny Stark, the outreach and communications manager said: “Scotland needs to take decisive action to halt and reverse biodiversity loss and provide an improved marine environment that benefits all now and in the future.

“Policy decisions should be supported by robust and relevant science, and lead to effective management actions. Research carried out on Arran in the NTZ and MPA has demonstrated that appropriate spatial management measures can deliver seabed recovery, and support more diverse and productive marine life which, in turn, can provide more resilient economic opportunities.

“But more action can and must be taken. COAST believes working in collaboration with others brings about the most effective change and this is why we are members of the Our Seas coalition.”

The coalition is raising awareness with the launch of a documentary ‘The Limit.’