Marine Bill planned for Scotland

Rural Affairs and Environment Cabinet Secretary Richard Lochhead said the bill would deliver a simpler regulatory system for the marine environment and would introduce improvements to marine nature conservation, as well as greater local control over marine and coastal areas. "Scotland has a unique coastal and marine environment which provides an important natural resource upon which so many communities depend. "With over 11,000 km of coastline, our waters generate hundreds of millions of pounds for the economy and support many thousands of jobs, most notably through the oil and gas industry, aquaculture and fishing. "There is now a greater awareness than ever before of the importance of sound management of our marine environment and promoting the sustainable use of our coasts and seas,” Mr Lochhead said. But he underlined that more had to be done to turn these aims into action. "I hope to announce plans for a new single piece of streamlined legislation to protect marine and coastal environments soon,” he added.