Healthy Waters For Thriving Communities
Healthy, thriving waters are a crucial part of Scotland’s future.
By protecting and restoring large portions of our seas, whilst simultaneously supporting sustainable, community-focused fishing methods, we can ensure our coastlines will be home to vibrant communities for generations to come.
For too long, our waters have suffered as a result of poor governance. The Scottish Greens will put the long-term health of ecosystems and communities at the heart of every marine decision, so both people and the planet can have a future. Central to this system will be community-led decision making, so that each of our unique marine regions will be managed in a way that chimes with local factors.
Our ambition is to have a marine environment that is free of pollution, from source to sea. Rivers, lochs and wetlands are vitally important habitats that can deliver benefits for people, climate and nature. We will protect them with a Clean Water Act that will include full monitoring of sewage overflows and measures to prevent chemicals from entering our waters.
We recognise that both flooding and droughts are expected to become more frequent over the coming decade and managing freshwater resources will become an increasingly important part of our adaptation to climate change. We will facilitate better freshwater management by protecting and restoring areas around rivers and lochs, which will lead to better water availability, natural flood defences and benefits for nature.
The Scottish Greens are not afraid to stand up to the huge international corporations that threaten our waters with industrial-scale fish farming. We will pause new salmon farms and the expansion of existing ones until strict fish welfare and mortality rules are met.
- Protecting and recovering our fish stocks by designating 30% of Scotland’s inshore waters as low impact fishing zones, where destructive practices including bottom trawling and scallop dredging are banned.
- Urgently consult on implementing the protective measures for the marine environment and key marine features that have already been designated in law but yet to be enacted.
- Put coastal communities at the heart of marine management, and give them greater say over fisheries management and marine spatial planning, including planning applications for new fish farms and offshore energy installations.
- Redistribute fishing quotas so that wealth generated by fishing businesses is more equally distributed, sustainable practices are rewarded and coastal communities see the benefit.
- Commission an independent review of the Marine Directorate with the aim of ensuring it is transparent, efficient and properly resourced.
- Support sea rewilding initiatives, such as the creation of native oyster reefs and seagrass plantations, to restore marine ecosystems and create jobs.
- Introduce a Clean Water Bill that will ensure all of Scotland’s rivers and lochs are clean and safe for nature, swimming and recreation. We will require 100% monitoring of sewage overflows, accompanied by statutory action requirements, and tighter controls on use of chemicals in and around our waterways.
- Provide funding and support for the restoration of river catchments at a regional scale working collaboratively with land managers and other stakeholders, taking forward actions to restore nature to reduce flood and drought risks, tackle pollution from agricultural run-offs and other contaminants that threaten the health of our rivers.
- Develop freshwater ‘wildlife corridors’ that support nature restoration, as well as deliver positive flood and drought management outcomes.
- Review government funding to local councils to manage flooding, ensuring they can deliver the best outcomes as well as directing more funding to nature-based flood protection measures to manage high rainfall in built-up areas – such as installing green roofs on public and community-owned buildings.
- Pause new salmon farms or the expansion of existing sites until the industry demonstrably improves fish welfare, reduces mortality rates and escapes, and tackles chemical and plastic pollution.
- Give regulators greater powers to shut down fish farms that fail to meet welfare and environmental requirements.
