Protecting Scotland's seafloor: an assessment of Scottish Ministers' implementation of the Marine Strategy Regulations 2010

This report assesses the effectiveness of Scottish Ministers’ implementation of the Marine Strategy Regulations 2010 in protecting Scotland’s seafloor habitats, focusing on whether programmes of measures, monitoring arrangements and governance have been sufficient to achieve Good Environmental Status in Scottish waters

Find questions and answers in regard to the report and supporting documents below.

 
 

Protecting-Scotlands-seafloor-Analytical-Report-20260623.pdf

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  • 23 June 2026

What is this report about?

This report looks at how well the Scottish Government is meeting its legal duties to protect and restore seafloor habitats under the Marine Strategy Regulations 2010.  These duties include developing effective measures, monitoring environmental conditions, and ensuring policies work together to achieve “Good Environmental Status” for seafloor habitats. This is referred to as ensuring “seafloor integrity” in the report. 

The report finds that the Scottish Government is falling short in several key areas: 

  • while plans and measures are in place, there is little evidence to show how these actions will actually achieve the environmental targets 
  • there has been no proper assessment of whether the current measures are enough, or whether additional action is needed 
  • monitoring of seabed conditions is inadequate and has declined over time. This means it is often not possible to tell whether the environment is improving or getting worse. 
  • there are problems with how responsibilities of public authorities are coordinated and carried out, such as unclear roles, poor coordination across policies, and delays in putting measures into practice 
  • 23 June 2026

Why should people be interested in this report?

Healthy seas matter to everyone. They provide food, regulate the climate, support jobs and protect the coastline. This report is important because it shows whether the Scottish Government is doing enough to safeguard these benefits. If seafloor habitats decline, the impacts will be felt across the environment, economy and the daily lives of communities and future generations that depend on a healthy marine environment. 

  • 23 June 2026

What areas of environmental law are relevant to this work?

The Marine Strategy Regulations 2010. The Regulations require the UK Secretary of State and Scottish Ministers to take measures to achieve or maintain GES in the marine environment by 2020 and to establish fit for purpose seafloor monitoring programmes. 

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What has ESS done?

ESS has examined Scottish Ministers’ compliance with, and implementation of, their duties under the Marine Strategy Regulations 2010. ESS’ findings and recommendations are based on:  

  • evidence gathered from published documents 
  • information provided to ESS by the Scottish Government, NatureScot and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) through meetings and correspondence 
  • analysis and evidence published in supporting ESS’ technical papers  
  • 23 June 2026

What was the result?

The report concludes that the Scottish Government has: 

  • failed to comply with environmental law and 
  • has been ineffective in its implementation of environmental law 

It further concludes that these failings have contributed to the UK failing to meet the 2020 target to achieve GES for seafloor habitats under the Marine Strategy Regulations 2010. 

What happens next?

The report recommends that the Scottish Government strengthen its planning, monitoring, and implementation to meet its statutory duties more effectively and ensure full compliance with the Marine Strategy Regulations 2010. 

ESS has made these recommendations under Section 20 of the UK Withdrawal from the European Union (Continuity) (Scotland) Act 2021 and asked the Scottish Government to agree a plan of remedial action to resolve the issues identified in the report and implement ESS’ recommendations. This plan should be agreed within six months. ESS will use the plan to monitor progress in delivering the recommendations. 

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