Arran Community Marine Reserve (NTZ)
Established in 2008 Arran’s Community Marine Reserve (a designated No Take Zone) at the northern entrance to Lamlash Bay offers a unique opportunity to study the process of marine regeneration. Focussed on monitoring scallops, crustaceans and benthic (seabed) regeneration we are working with York University and other leading institutes to determine the success or otherwise of the reserve. Our expectation, based on overseas studies, is that the waters of the NTZ will help to ‘reseed’  and restock not only the zone itself but also the surrounding waters benefiting commercial and leisure interests over the long term.

Fish farms rely on the often unsustainable harvesting of other species such as sand eels, pilchards and Antarctic krill to produce fish meal for Salmon and other carnivorous fish. They have been shown to be sources of organic contamination from this fish feed and from fish faeces.

In addition the pharmaceuticals used in the treatment of sea lice and antibiotics to treat other diseases can pollute the marine environment and can impact on other fisheries such as crustaceans. While COAST is not opposed to aquaculture in principle there is a real need for the industry to become sustainable in terms of feed, carbon footprint, and pollution and demonstrate it can operate without impacts on the marine environment and fisheries in other parts of the world.

Sustainable fishing methods such as creeling and line caught fish cause no damage to the seabed and do not degrade fragile habitats such as maerl beds and seagrass beds which are important nurseries, affording protection to fish such as juvenile cod.

Of particular concern to COAST is the detrimental impact of Scallop dredging and Prawn trawling to the seabed. Unlike water column fisheries these fishing techniques entail the raking of the seabed to dislodge and collect scallops and prawns.  This is a destructive process that damages the complex marine habitats which are essential nursery grounds for juvenile fish. In contrast traditional methods using lobster and prawn pots (creels) have far less impact on the seabed. Modern methods of collecting scallops by hand diving are also far less destructive, though, of course, all methods of fishing do require controls and management measures to ensure long term stocks.

MPAs have long been a feature of overseas coastal marine management with the USA (Georges Bank), New Zealand (Leigh Marine Reserve) and Australia (Great Barrier Reef) being prominent examples. Most are legally enforceable. Scotland is notable for its lack of marine protected areas and reluctance to introduce progressive management measures. This section brings together reports and papers from overseas MPAs and reserves.

The seabed and shores around Arran and the Clyde contain a wide and diverse variety of habitats. This section contains papers and articles on these habitats which include, rocky shores, sandy shores, burrowed mud, maerl beds, rocky reefs, kelp forests and seagrass beds.

This section contains papers and reports relating to the marine science of coastal waters.