8 February 2012 Last updated at 02:08
Viewers of the BBC’s Island Parish series have been following the controversy over the conservation measuresIslanders who claim new conservation rules could put their economic future under threat are leading a protest at the Scottish Parliament.
Residents on Barra, in the Western Isles, say plans to designate some of their fishing grounds special areas of conservation will hit the industry.
Conservation agency Scottish Natural Heritage says sandbanks, reef and seal habitats need special protection.
Local MSP and government minister Alasdair Allan opposes the move.
For centuries, the fishermen of Barra have harvested the waters around their island and millions of people have become aware of the controversy because of the BBC series, Island Parish, which documents life in the southern Western Isles.
The protest by islanders will come as MSPs raise the issue during a backbench debate at Holyrood.
Final decision
The Sound of Barra special area of conservation would also give protection, under European law, to species such as harbour seals.
Mr Allan, a junior education minister in the Scottish government, says the Barra community has been excluded from having a proper say on the issue and that generations of islanders have used the area responsibly.
The SNH consultation on the special designation[1] has said fishing could continue on a managed basis, should the measure be put in place.
A Scottish government spokesman said: “Scottish Natural Heritage have carried out a substantial consultation on the designation of Barra.
“They are currently finalising their advice to ministers based on the consultation responses, and the Scottish government will make a decision once that advice has been considered in full.”
References
- ^ consultation on the special designation (www.snh.gov.uk)
3 Comment
Rodger & Terry GERMANY, February 13, 2012 at 9:13 pm
We wish to add our support for the islanders in their opposition to the silly proposals which will upset the life of human beings on these islands. Common sense would have shewn that human life is much more important than seals. All these ideas will do is place people on the bread line, unemployed and forced to leave their homes. Or maybe that’s the idea behind the scheme
14CB6 2RE England
Jill Roeder, February 16, 2012 at 10:56 am
As a conservationist I would normally support plans to make certain areas SSSIs to preserve the flora and fauna. However, in the case of the Isle of Mingulay, to make such a large area around this island an SSSI would hugely impinge on the fishing grounds of Barra’s trawlermen, who have been responsibly fishing these waters for decades. To make the proposed area an SSSI would completely devastate the nearby islands and would mean that, eventually, they would become ghost islands because there would be nothing to support the people who live on them. A trawlerman on the programme An Island Parish made it clear that the special coral which has been found near Mingulay has never been damaged by the trawlers, so what’s the problem?
GORDON WALLACE DUFFIELD, February 19, 2012 at 9:30 pm
PEOPLE HAVE RIGHTS BUT POLITICALS SEEM NOT TO BE AWARE OF THE FACT.LEAVE THE PEOPLE AS THEY ARE FOR THEIR LIVES ARE HARD ENOUGH WITHOUT BURDENING THEM WITH THE FURTHER THREATS OF LOOSING HOMES AND A REMARKABLE YET PRECARIOUS WAY OF LIFE.GOOD LUCK TO YOU ON THE ISLANDS. OUR THOUGHTS ARE WITH YOU.