Scottish Marine and Freshwater Science Vol 5 No 17

Marine Scotland requires a detailed understanding of fishing activity in Scottish Territorial Waters to inform marine spatial planning at both the national and regional level, and in relation to marine renewable energy development, marine nature conservation designations and fisheries mnagement. For larger fishing vessels (those over 5 m overall length) which fish mainly in offshore wters, spatially resolved information on the ctivity and the value of fishing can be derived fom Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS) and landings data. The competition for space is, however, often greatest in inshore waters where most fishing is undertaken by small vessels which are not currently fitted with VMS. To improve knowledge of the distribution of fishing activity and the value of fisheries in inshore waters, Marine Scotland carried out a fisheries mapping study known as ScotMap. ScotMap provides spatial information on the fishing activity of Scottish registered commercial fishing vessels under 15 m in overall length.