Scotland's Marine Protection Fails as Destructive Bottom Trawling Continues
In Scotland, the destructive fishing practice of bottom trawling persists across vast swathes of coastal waters, despite official promises of marine protection and conservation. While the Scottish government has designated 37% of its territorial waters as Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), environmental groups reveal that only a small fraction have enforceable management measures in place. Shockingly, methods like bottom trawling and scallop dredging—which rake and crush the seabed—are permitted in approximately 95% of Scotland's coastal waters, including within many designated protected zones.
The Devastating Impact on Marine Ecosystems
Bottom trawling involves dragging heavy nets across the seafloor, causing extensive habitat destruction. This method is particularly damaging as it disturbs seabed sediments, releasing stored carbon into the ocean and contributing to carbon pollution. Notably, bottom trawling burns nearly three times more fuel than other fishing techniques, exacerbating its environmental footprint. Furthermore, trawlers often discard a substantial portion of their catch back into the sea, with very low survival rates for the marine life returned.
The problem extends beyond Scotland's borders. A 2024 report from the Marine Conservation Society and Oceana found that 90% of protected marine sites across seven European countries, including the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, and Spain, experienced bottom trawling between 2015 and 2023. Vessels logged an astonishing 4.4 million hours of bottom trawling in these supposedly protected waters during that period.
A Fisherman's Perspective: Bally Philp's Story
Bally Philp, a fisherman with over three decades of experience, hauls up baited traps from the waters off Scotland's Isle of Skye. Unlike most of Scotland's coastline, these waters are protected from industrial fishing methods, but Philp has witnessed conditions deteriorate nearly everywhere else. "The inshore archipelagos on the West Coast of Scotland used to be full of fish," Philp said. "We have no commercial quantities of fish left inshore at all."
Philp began his career on trawlers in the late 1980s, a time when fish had become bycatch—unwanted species often illegal to land under new quota systems. His job involved shovelling dead fish overboard. "You would see a stream of dead fish flowing off the back of the boat," he recalled. "It's a heartbreaking thing to see." This experience led him to switch to baited traps, a method causing minimal habitat damage and allowing most unwanted catch to survive when returned to the sea.
However, this choice has limited him to the shrinking areas where such fishing remains viable. Across much of the UK, reefs have been heavily damaged or destroyed by scallop dredging. Loch Alsh, where Philp works, holds some of the most intact reefs remaining. Coming from three generations of fishers, Philp believes he will be the last in his family to make a living in this industry. He taught his two sons how to fish but has discouraged them from pursuing it as a career. "We're at the arse end of something that was once really good," Philp lamented. "Unless we can turn that around, why would anyone want their kids to do this?"
Broader Economic and Ecological Consequences
The economic costs of trawling extend far beyond the fishing industry itself. A 2023 Marine Conservation Society analysis found that banning bottom trawling in UK offshore protected areas could deliver a net benefit of up to £3.5 billion over 20 years. This accounts for increased carbon storage, pollution removal, nutrient cycling, and recreation opportunities.
Marine biologist Caitlin Turner explained that habitat destruction creates cascading effects throughout the ecosystem. "If you degrade the habitat, then there's less places for juvenile fish to live and spawn in," she said. "This affects the abundance of the animals in the area. It trickles upward—you'll have less of the bigger animals that feed on the prey animals."
The damage also impacts Scotland's tourism industry. Visitors to destinations like the Isle of Skye often find fish and chips on menus that are imported. More than 80% of seafood eaten in the UK in 2019 was fished or farmed outside UK waters, according to the World Wildlife Fund. Miles Craven, executive chef at Wickman Hotels on the Isle of Skye, noted, "There is a huge demand from tourists and it is difficult to meet these demands. I have noticed it get incrementally harder in the last eight years."
Government Delays and Future Hopes
The Scottish government had indicated it would launch a consultation on fisheries management measures for coastal protected areas in late 2025, but in December officials announced a delay of at least six months. Scientists and community groups are already designing restoration approaches, including efforts to restore seagrass and oyster populations. However, conservationists argue this won't be sufficient without reinstating a coastal limit that protects at least 30% of Scotland's inshore seas—part of the international target to protect 30% of land and sea by 2030.
A Scottish Government spokesperson stated that 13% of inshore protected areas are currently closed to certain types of bottom trawling and scallop dredging, with additional measures expected in the coming years to exceed the 30% protection target by 2030. Officials cited upcoming parliamentary elections and late delivery by external contractors for the consultation delay.
For Philp and other small-scale fishermen, this timeline means more years of waiting for Marine Protected Areas that were designated a decade ago and still lack enforcement. "The more aware I become about the nuances of fisheries management and the marine ecosystems that we're working in, the more despair I feel because I know we can get it right," Philp said. "I know we can fix this. I despair at the fact that we're being so slow to fix this."
