Scotland should be reaping the harvest of the seas

WHAT price the bounty of Scotland's seas? If you were to watch dolphins leap in the waters of the Moray Firth, the answer, as the advert goes, would be: priceless. Yet if it were part of a two-hour round trip from Cromarty with EcoVentures, the more realistic answer would be £20 per adult.

Putting an actual cash figure on the annual benefits we derive from being wrapped on three sides by the watery patchwork quilt of the Irish Sea, the Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea is exceedingly difficult. However, we do know that Britain enjoys an annual benefit from its island status of £69 billion. The report, A New Analysis of Marine-Related Activities in the UK Economy with Supporting Science and Technology, painstakingly unravelled the nation's maritime- related economy to come to a figure that is the equivalent of £1,254 for every man, woman and child in Britain.

The question is: what is Scotland's share? As we are roughly 10 per cent of the population, is it £6.9 billion? Or, since our nation, with more than 790 islands, accounts for over 60 per cent of Britain's coastline, should it be £41 billion?

In the opinion of Dr David Pugh, one of the report's authors, it should be more than £6.9 billion. "To take a percentage based on population would in my view give too low a figure for Scotland," he says. "This is because Scotland is the major player in the offshore oil industry, which in turn is by far the biggest contributor to the marine economy of the UK. Also, Scotland is a bigger than 10 per cent player in the fishing industry. Almost all the fish farming in the UK is based in Scottish waters."

Well, the correct answer, at least according to Evan Williams and his team at the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, is around £14 billion, or the equivalent of our national waters writing an annual cheque for £7,000 to every Scot.

However, this figure is calculated by a different method, in which a cash value is attached to 17 different types of services provided by an eco-system - such as "climate regulation", "nutrient cycling", and "pollination" - as well as more conventional quantifiable worths such as "food production" and "raw materials".

To explain how Scotland benefits from the sea, let's go on a journey that begins at the shoreline at the Faslane nuclear submarine base in the Holy Loch. The deep-water lochs and their easy access to the Atlantic have long attracted the military and, regardless of the controversy, they provide an annual income of £400-£500 million as well as securing 10,000-12,000 jobs.

Scotland's shipyards may have declined but their slipways still account for a turnover of £510 million and support 5,300 jobs, while 5.5 million people pass through our ports which also handle 90 million tonnes of freight, of which 67 million are exports.

Around 50 per cent of the foreshore and the beds of tidal rivers, as well as almost all the seabed out to the 12-mile limit - when the Scottish Government's control passes to the British government - belongs to the Crown Estate Scotland.

Last year it earned £3.7 million in rental income from ports, marinas and ferry terminals as well as rent from companies whose pipelines and cables lie on the seabed. The UK market for underwater telecommunications is £497 million. We should pause here in remembrance of the seaweed industry, which collapsed in the 1980s, and ponder a report that said the Western Isles had the potential annually to harvest 37,000 tonnes, which, at £200 per tonne, would total £7.4 million and trump Ireland's £5 million a year, if only a buyer could be found.

The bucket-and-spade brigade may no longer flock to Ayr or Portobello, but Scotland's coastline remains a powerful draw. Britain benefits by £17 billion in tourism because of its island status, a figure which could translate to £1.7 billion for Scotland.

As a spokesman for VisitScotland explained: "Our scenic and accessible coastline attracts many visitors interested in a range of activities from walking or cycling to sailing or playing our famous links golf courses."

If we were now to take to the waters it would be by ferry, cruise ship or leisure craft. While Scotland would benefit from less than 10 per cent of the £1.4 billion turnover Britain enjoys from cruise liners, given our myriad islands, our share of the £889 million earned annually from leisure crafts could be £89 million or more.

While the Crown Estate owns the sea bed, what swims in the water column above, or lies thousands of feet below, is a different matter. The bounty provided by Scotland's fishing grounds may be a constant source of debate - are we taking too much or too little? - but it is a bounty nonetheless. The most lucrative creature caught by Scottish fisherman is the langoustine - last year £89 million-worth was snared in nets. Mackerel follows with fish worth £50 million caught, and haddock (£43 million) comes third. The Scottish fishing industry last year landed £323 million worth of fish and continues to employ around 6,000 fisherman with 7-8,000 involved in fish processing.

Bertie Armstrong, chief executive of the Scottish Fisherman's Federation, said: "The financial values of harvested seafood illustrate the importance of the Scottish fishing industry to the communities which support it. In most cases, fishing is a mainstay occupation and cannot easily be replaced. But here is the good bit: unlike some other marine resource extraction, this one is entirely renewable. You might think from the general thrust of the media coverage that that was not the case, but if you do, you have been misled. The stocks targeted by the Scottish industry are either harvested sustainably or are an active part of a programme of recovery."

Unfortunately, the mother lode of Scotland and Britain's sea wealth, the gas and oil fields below the seabed, are not renewable. Yet what was famously described by Harold Wilson as God's last chance for the British, continues to produce large quantities of oil and gas. Last year oil worth £20.6 billion was extracted from the UK-controlled sector of the North Sea, as well as £12.2 billion worth of gas. Yet that which remains proves more difficult or costly to extract.

We have toured the shoreline, the surface, beneath the waves and even beneath the sea bed, but what of the water itself? Well, that truly is priceless. The temperate nature of Scotland is partly as a result of the conveyor belt of warm waters carried up from the Caribbean and were this to disappear, we could expect winter temperatures to be similar to Moscow's.

Then there is the energy contained in the waves which could yet prove an even bigger, and more lasting, benefit to Scotland than oil and gas. Plans are already in place to harvest this energy in wave farms

As Pugh, said, despite the sea's huge contribution to our economy, it is routinely ignored: "Most people don't think much about the sea. Even our politicians need reminding. Fish don't vote!"

Act now before it's too late

THE Scotsman has launched a campaign to establish marine reserves to help save our sealife from destruction.

Pressures on Scottish waters are increasing, with surges in the renewable energy industry, fish farming and marine tourism adding to other demands made by the oil industry, traditional fishing activities and developments along the coasts.

All this comes at a time when climate change is wreaking havoc among sealife in Scotlands waters.

Fundamental changes to populations of plankton the basic building block of all marine life have caused shockwaves throughout the food chain.

Until recently, our politicians had appeared to ignore the growing signs of trouble or had put their faith on a mish-mash of some 85 pieces of legislation covering Scotlands seas, much of it outdated and with different aims in mind.

The Scotsman is calling on the Holyrood and Westminster parliaments to create a network of reserves or marine protected areas around the coast designed to safeguard important areas of the sea.

In many cases, fishing and other activities should be able to continue. It is more than possible to use the seas while avoiding the wanton destruction of marine life or areas rich in biodiversity.

A single marine management organisation for Scotland should also be set up to oversea activity in the sea.

At present, Scotland is only responsible for wildlife in a strip of sea 12 nautical miles wide around its coast, with the UK government controlling waters from 12 to 200 miles.

This arbitrary division makes no sense and The Scotsman believes it is time for devolution of the seas, giving control of conservation to the Scottish Government out to the international waters.

Maintaining the health and welfare of our seas is crucial to the Scottish economy as a whole.

It has been estimated that the value of the services provided by Scotland's marine environment amounts to some £ 14 billion about a fifth of Scotland's gross domestic product.

It may be out of sight beneath the waves, but it should not be out of mind.