| The Scottish government plan, set out in a public consultation, covers 20 vulnerable offshore habitats currently designated as marine protected areas (MPAs). It proposes either a zoned or a full ban on trawling and dredging at 15 of these sanctuaries, and a full ban at the five other sites. The consultation was welcomed by campaigners as a “significant” and “long-awaited” move. If implemented, it would protect the marine environment and help bring Britain closer to its target of protecting 30% of sea and land by 2030. But it is also not enough, they say. Scotland lags behind England in banning or managing trawling inside marine sanctuaries. The move follows years of criticism from campaigners, who have accused Scottish ministers of breaking their promises by missing deadlines to protect vulnerable marine life from the impact of overfishing and the impacts of the climate emergency. And it comes less than a year after the Scottish government was forced to abandon its plans to create highly protected marine areas, which would have banned fishing in 10% of Scotland’s waters, after opposition from the fishing industry. Launching the consultation, Gillian Martin, Scotland’s net zero and energy secretary, said: “Scotland has beautiful and diverse marine ecosystems. However, the twin biodiversity and climate crises mean we must act now to support the recovery and resilience of our marine environment.” “These proposals are the result of many years of development and we will continue to consult very closely with industry and coastal communities to hear their views.” Phil Taylor, director of Open Seas, one of several organisations in Scotland working for marine protection, told the Guardian: “Most of our marine protected areas were designated over 10 years ago – so this move is a very overdue, but a welcome step.” In 2020, the Guardian revealed that 97% of British “marine protected areas” were being dredged and bottom trawled, drawing accusations from campaigners that the government was misleading the public over marine “paper parks”. In March, marine conservation group Oceana revealed that industrial vessels suspected of bottom trawling spent 33,000 hours inside British marine protected areas last year. But Britain is not alone in allowing the destructive practices inside marine sanctuaries. A report in April by Seas At Risk and the Marine Conservation Society showed that bottom trawling was taking place in 90% of offshore EU in MPAs between 2015 and 2023. The Netherlands had the highest number of bottom-towed fishing hours recorded within the MPA sites, followed by Germany, Denmark and Spain. This year, Greece became the first country to announce a ban in all its national marine parks and protected areas. Taylor said that he hoped the consultation would lead to additional protections for Scotland’s 34 inshore MPAs, half of which have no or inadequate management. “Alongside the many people and organisations campaigning for sustainable management of our seas, we are glad to see ministers finally beginning to deliver on some of their commitments, but unfortunately the government’s job is only half-done.” Karen McVeigh is a senior reporter on the Guardian’s Seascape series, which examines the dramatic changes taking place in our oceans Read more: | 