Scottish Marine Protected Areas Socioeconomic Monitoring

This document describes an evaluation of Scotland's Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and Special Areas of Conservation (SACs), focusing on their socio-economic impacts, particularly on fishing and other marine activities, since the introduction of new management measures in 2016. Conducted by the Marine Analytical Unit of Marine Scotland Science, the evaluation employed interviews, case studies, fishing activity analysis, and compliance monitoring. Results showed high compliance with MPA regulations, some displacement of fishing activities, and early signs of socio-economic benefits for local communities, with no significant national impacts detected. The evaluation suggests further monitoring and a follow-up evaluation in 2018 to understand the long-term effects on the fishing industry and onshore processing sectors. It emphasizes the importance of community involvement and the potential for tourism opportunities associated with MPAs. The preliminary findings are based on yet-to-be-finalized 2016 fisheries data, and the document is published under the Open Government Licence v3.0 by the Scottish Government. **This summary was written by an AI model and therefore should not be considered a definitive summary of the report. If you are aware of inaccuracies, please email evaluation.registry@cabinetoffice.gov.uk.**

Description

• Lead department: The Scottish Government (The Scottish Government)
• Evaluation stage: A complete evaluation report
• Other departments: No other departments listed
• Evaluation types: Impact evaluation; Process evaluation
• Impact methods: Theory-based methods
• Theory-based methods: Other
• Process methods: Case studies; Individual interviews; Output or performance modelling
• Grant information: This intervention is not distributing funding via a grant
• Government Major Project information: This intervention is not a major project
• Policies: No policies provided

Event Dates

• Event Name: Publication of final results
• Event date: March 2017

Evaluation Costs

• Cost: Not provided

Evaluation sharing

• Link(s) to published report(s): Yes
• Links to evaluation plans: No link provided
• Links to published evaluations (DEBUGGING): No final report link found.
• Findings: Not provided
• Permission to share confirmed: Yes