Not another project officer...

COAST is entering a new chapter. From a small group of locals united by their despair at the sorry state of the Clyde, COAST has evolved into a core of directors volunteering their energy and time to project work with the widespread support of the island and local businesses. This work involves representing community interests, building science partnerships, gathering evidence, researching and advocating  policy change, event-organising and raising awareness. In short COAST has amassed a fair amount of experience and know-how in its 16 year history.

We now have in place some pretty significant funding, granted by original seed-funders the Esmée Fairburn Foundation. It is the sort of money that can pay for someone to do much of what the committee currently does on a voluntary basis.

It will – to a degree – formalise COAST's operations, but we would like to pre-empt any groans of ‘not another project officer’. We are very aware that ‘project officer’ sounds like bureaucratic speak for someone who doesn’t really do much of value. This will not be a ‘nothing job,’ akin to some of the bizarre employment descriptions advertised by local government (Inter-agency coordinators who promote the importance of 'doing the bleeding obvious'). The new role at COAST will be hands-on and worthwhile. The project officer will be a scientific monitor, skilful organiser, enthusiastic communicator and a tough negotiator. The sort of person who can work passionately for the benefit of a full spectrum of community, environmental and long-term economic interests will - in short – have to be a master of many trades.

This transition from a small volunteer-led grassroots group to an effective advocacy organisation with charitable status and people on the payroll is not an easy one. Too often flexibility, passion and localism is forgotten amidst box-ticking and meeting funding objectives. We will not fall into that trap. COAST is committed to professionalism, but we are also committed to remaining as dynamic, community-driven and down-to-earth as we have always been.  We will retain the values of a credit union, not those of a expansionist financial service company - more Bruichladdich than Glenfiddich perhaps.

Like many other groups, COAST needs to chart new waters here. We need to steer clear of the annual cycle of grant-funding scrambles and move towards something more radical and resilient. To be blunt, we need to be financially sustainable. By building in revenue-raising work, we can better secure a vital community role in local marine management. That is COAST's long-term view - and we hope our supporters will help make it happen.

The 'COAST project officer' role will be advertised shortly. Click here for more information.

LOCAL NEWS

Arran MPA proposed

COAST’s AGM last month announced - and gained initial support for - a proposal to establish a larger Marine Protected Area (MPA) off the coast of Arran. The main drive behind the MPA is to protect coastal waters from bottom trawling and dredging activities - it will not affect static creel fishing or recreational sea-angling.  Further meetings are now planned in villages around the island over the coming months. Please read COAST’s article for full details about the proposals.

Putting the Sea in 'City'

Next month COAST will cross the Clyde alongside many Arran-based organisations to take a piece of Arran into central Glasgow. ‘Arran on the Square’ will be chance to convince a few more Glasgow punters to make the trip doon the water. With a stage and stall set up in the city centre, a Trojan horse of island groups will promote everything from local produce to the Arran’s music scene. For COAST it will be an opportunity to explain how Arran is at the vanguard of real marine policy change. Come along on the 14 and 15th of May for an island day out in the city.

Industrial litter on shore
Waste and debris has accumulated along the shore between Cordon and Kings Cross adjacent to salmon and mussel farms on Arran’s east coast over recent months. Some reconnaissance in late March by a couple of COAST members brought back the following pictures – material for a gallery that would likely make the VisitScotland executives choke on their porridge.

Not quite Colin Baxter....

Ownership of the mussel farm lease was transferred last year to Hebridean Mussels Ltd from Arran Shellfish, but it is not clear whether the new owners are currently harvesting at their newly-acquired site.

Leaflets

Leaflets providing local information about the No Take Zone and the marine biodiversity in Lamlash Bay are now being distributed. If you are a local business and would like some on your premises, then feel free to get in touch.


NATIONAL NEWS

Three mile campaign – an update
Since last autumn many, many, many people and organisations have been in touch pledging to support the campaign for a reintroduction of the ‘3 mile limit’ in the Clyde.  The directors of COAST - whilst very supportive of the proposal - felt that COAST was not the organisation to run the campaign. ‘We felt that the situation needed a new Clyde-wide organisation to unite the thousands of individual supporters and hundreds of organisations spread all around the Clyde,’ said chairman Howard Wood. ‘From Girvan to Dunoon, from Glasgow to Largybeg, this needs a Clyde-wide coalition.’ For the last few months COAST have been working in partnership with other organisations to set up this new campaigning body. Although unlikely to be up and running during the current Holyrood election campaign, this new organisation hopes to make itself known to - and work with - the newly incumbent administration as soon as it takes control of government in late May. COAST's view is clear: politicians and regulators need to understand just how badly degraded the Clyde marine environment and fishery has become and that the status quo is unacceptable to Clyde communities.

Electioneering
We’re going to be dealing more intensively with the forthcoming Scottish Parliamentary election in next month’s newsletter, but one quote stood out in Richard Lochhead’s address to the SNP assembled ranks last month, namely: "....In four short years, the SNP has placed the industry at the heart of Government and in the vanguard of change in Europe. Scots fishermen now have the reputation as the most sustainable and forward thinking in Europe, winning plaudits from environmentalists for international leadership on fisheries conservation.” This more than a wee bit misleading. Alex Salmond and Richard Lochhead continue to ignore the plight of the Clyde fishery - a fishery reduced to only two invertebrates (stocks of prawns and scallops).  Richard Lochhead's commitments made in  last September's meeting with concerned Clyde residents have come to nothing, just as SNP commitments made in Lamlash High School in 2008 and 2009 have also been unfulfilled, letting down not just COAST but also many local SNP supporters and our SNP MSP. More detail next month....

Groundbreaking fish farm decision
Islanders of Lewis (and many supporters from around Scotland) celebrated Comhairle nan Eilean Siar's rejection of Lighthouse Caledonia's plans to site an extremely large fish farm in one of the bonniest estuaries in the Hebrides. Campaigners representing 'No Fish Farms in Broad Bay' reckon the Council's decision is "potentially groundbreaking in the way it addresses the issue of protection of sea trout from sea lice infestation, especially." Read the full decision here.

However, there is not an obviously coordinated approach by Scotland's local authorities. Last month, Ross, Lochaber and Wester Ross area planning committee approved an application for a massive hatchery that will boost Marine Harvest smolt production capacity by 5 million smolts annually. The hatchery will supply a number of new fish farms planned for the Minch.

Fair Isle pushes for different kind of MPA

In their recent newsletter, the Fair Isle Marine Environment and Tourism Initiative expressed its disappointment that its ‘marine nature conservation values do not appear to be recognised in the Scottish Marine Bill.’ However, the group has now decided to pursue status as a Research and Demonstration MPA. The drafting process is currently underway, pioneering an important new legal and procedural aspect of marine management in Scotland. For more background on the proposal and a very informative update from Fair Isle see their latest newsletter.

How everyone can contribute to marine knowledge...

An innovative new project by Newcastle University is hoping to blend citizen science with marine management.  The Big Sea Survey is recruiting volunteers to collect information on the many species on the region’s shore to help scientists and policy-makers build a better picture of the coastal marine environment.

Seal cull licenses petition
A petition demanding that the Scottish Government rescind all seal cull licenses held by fish farms without  ‘double nets’ has seemingly identified an inconsistency in the application of the Marine Scotland Act 2010. Licenses to shoot seals should be granted as a last resort after fish farms have attempted the most effective non-lethal method argues campaigner Mark Carter of Marine Concern, who also points out that ‘80% of salmon farms that have been granted licenses do not have double nets.’ He urges people to lobby their MSPs and support Robin Harper’s Early Day Motion. Click here for more information and a lively online debate.

Expo cancelled
We promised some in-depth coverage of the Fishing 2011 Expo that was scheduled to take place in Glasgow's SECC last month. Unfortunately the event was 'postponed' following 'conversations with key suppliers and fishermen from across the UK.'

Council FLAGs waving fishing money
Local projects for fishing communities across Scotland will be funded by £4.5 million grant funding injected through Fisheries Local Action Groups (FLAGS). Councils are being asked to set up the FLAGS to consider applications and decide on the projects ‘that improve quality of life and promote economic diversification in coastal communities.’ £1.5 million of the European Fisheries Fund money can be accessed for the Highlands and Islands with a further £3 million for rest of Scotland.

Crown Estates status quo challenged

Highland representatives presented an alternative vision of the Crown Estate at a meeting of the Scottish affairs committee last month. The group stated its objection to the fact that revenue from leasing rights (such as those for fish-farming, marinas and tidal power) often drains from the local economy and called for a greater local involvement with the forward-planning of projects. ‘We need to benefit in terms of jobs and benefit locally from these developments or the work just goes to outside companies,’ explained Highland Council leader Michael Foxely.


OVERSEAS NEWS

Damanaki to clamp down on black market
Illegal fishing is one of the biggest threats to global fish stocks, the European Fisheries Commissioner has warned. The energetic Maria Damanaki is now proposing a global catch certification scheme to clamp down on unregulated fishing, as research shows that 16% of EU imports come from illegal fisheries every year. Addressing a European Parliamentary alliance group, she said that the EU must see to it that no subsidies go to EU operators who fish against the rules.

....which is why it's important then to make sure the rules are good in the first place (see next new item).....

Barroso under mounting pressure to end bad subsidies
89 European and international organisations have called on President Barroso to honour the Commission’s commitment to end environmentally harmful subsidies. Despite numerous commitments to define a ‘roadmap’ for the removal of environmentally damaging subsidies, there is growing concern that no progress is being made. So while reform of the Common Fisheries Policy rumbles on, there is no obvious analysis of the environmental effects of the massive subsidies handed out in the fisheries sector. Clearly there is a need for more joined-up thinking...

Other news....
...from around our global shores includes soaring radioactive iodine levels in coastal waters beside the Fukushima nuclear power plant, why anti-bacterial soaps aren't good news for fish, how human activity is endangering marine ecoystems in Antarctica, and Russian plans to mass produce caviar...


SCIENCE

COAST supporter John Campbell reveals the disturbing and escalating relationship between chemical use and aquaculture. Presenting fish-farming in its wider evolutionary context, Sea Lice, Farmed Salmon and the Chemicals Story explains how the salmon mass-produced in the sea yield some potentially uncontrollable problems. It's a must read for anyone who wants to think bigger about the long-term implications of aquaculture.


A few fishy facts folks should know
50% – the reduction in salmon production called for recently by the head of the Directorate for Nature Management in Norway to save wild salmon stocks
50% - the increase in production capacity of farmed salmon smolts on the West Coast of Scotland by Norwegian firm Marine Harvest
£250,000 - the amount of money being dished out to 'enhance communities' by aquaculture company Scottish Sea Farms
£8.5bn - the value of illegal fishing globally (which makes the black market sector the second biggest fish producer in the world)


FISH OF THE MONTH

As a tribute to the good news from Broad Bay, this month's fish of the month is the noble sea trout.  Native to the waters of western Europe, the sea trout is the same species as the freshwater brown trout. Sea trout are largely female and show anadromous reproduction, migrating to the salty seas for most of its life and returning to freshwater to spawn. For an excellent Q and A about sea trout see the Salmon and Trout Association's factsheet.



Latin name: salmo trutta
Normal size: large Scottish sea trout can grow to 10kg+
Diet: While at sea, sea trout feed on prey items such as small crustaceans, marine worms, sandeels, sand smelts, sprats and juvenile members of the cod family, sticklebacks, sand goby and terrestrial insects. Once sea trout return to the freshwater rivers to spawn, they generally do not feed, instead using the reserves they have built up.


THANKS
If you have enjoyed reading this newsletter and feel supportive of COAST, please get in touch. Like all community organisations, COAST's work depends on the efforts of a small group of dedicated volunteers. If you would like to offer any financial support, you can donate via the website. Alternatively feel free to contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Thank you for reading COAST’s 12th newsletter. We hope you are looking forward to the next month’s edition already.

Coming in the next newsletter:
- who to vote for...? We explore the marine policies of the major political parties vying for power in Holyrood
- the Broad Bay example: what can be learnt from the 'no fish farms' campaign in Lewis