A leading academic has warned that evidence from around the world proves that environmental measures imposed by governments against the wishes of the local people do not work.
Academic supports fishermen against fishing ground closures
29 October 2015
Dr Magnus Course, who is a senior lecturer in social anthropology at Edinburgh University, was reacting to a list of Marine Protection Areas (MPAs) produced by Marine Scotland.
The MPAs would restrict or ban prawn trawling and scallop dredging in several important fishing grounds around the Western Isles and the west coast.
Western Isles Fishermen's Association warns it would result in dozens of job losses and threaten the viability of two processing plants employing over 70 staff.”
The organisation says statistics produced by Marine Scotland to justify the closure of vital fishing grounds are "fundamentally flawed."
Dr Course said: "Decades of anthropological research from around the globe have made clear that environmental designations are most effective when carried out in cooperation with local communities.
"When they are simply imposed on communities, people and environment are placed in opposition to one another. Both inevitably suffer. There is absolutely nothing “natural” about an environment from which people have been actively excluded.”
He added: “By seeking to impose environmental designations without due regard to the cultural, linguistic, economic, and social value of fishing to these fragile communities, the government is returning to a model of regulation that is decades out of date.
"I would urge the Scottish Government to follow the example of other European governments. They should take this opportunity to look for environmental solutions which build upon the sustainable fishing practices that Hebridean communities have been practicing for centuries.”
He continued: “ Take for example, the voluntary ban on fishing in the Eriskay straits after the completion of the causeway in 2000.
"Local fishermen understood the importance of the straits as a safe ground for fish and shellfish, and voluntarily agreed not to fish there. This agreement has been respected up to the present day.”
The islands' fishing industry is under threat