 The next item of business is the member's business debate on motion 2692, in the name of Ariane Burgess, on revitalising coastal communities. The debate will be concluded without any questions being put. Will those members who wish to speak in the debate please press the request-to-speak buttons now, or enter R in the chat function? I call on Ariane Burgess to open the debate up to seven minutes, please, Ms Burgess. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. When did you last enjoy a native oyster? Oysters are seen as a luxury, but native oysters were once called the poor man's food. During the industrial revolution, millions were harvested to feed urban populations and Scotland's coasts boasted large oyster fisheries. Oyster scalps in the Firth of Forth covered an area larger than Edinburgh. However, over-exploitation led to declining stocks, and the complete destruction of many oyster beds now no living oysters remain in the Firth of Forth, and communities along our coastline have lost a once plentiful food. Those communities have also lost the natural flood defences that oyster beds once provided by protecting shorelines from erosion, tides and storm surges. Of course, that is not the only problem facing coastal communities. For decades, they have struggled from a lack of investment and people leaving to find work. One industry that provides jobs is fin fish agriculture, yet it is not without controversy. The sector is dominated by a small number of companies, many of which are based outside of Scotland and which often give jobs to those they already employ rather than new jobs for local people. Further, the figures on agricultural jobs that include those that deal with the industry's harmful effects, such as working at the pit in North Uist, were huge numbers of dead diseased salmon that are dumped. Wouldn't it be better if young people in coastal communities had a wider range of jobs available to them, including jobs that promote wellbeing and nature, if they could work for community-based businesses that share profits for community benefit and for Scotland's coastal waters to be recognised for their contribution to our environment and biodiversity? We can make that a reality. We can support coastal businesses and activities that promote wellbeing, such as wild swimming, recreational diving and responsible tourism. Domestic tourism to coastal locations generates £391 million for the Scottish economy every year. Nature-based tourism provides 39,000 jobs, but destinations become less attractive if there are large fish farms, poor water quality or less diverse marine life. It is crucial to invest in nature restoration and research in the inshore environment. Many respected organisations are already doing that, but there is also a rising wave of community-led projects producing tangible positive outcomes. The Sea Wilding project at Loch Cregnish aims to restore 1 million native oysters over the next five years. They have created six jobs and are working with six local primary schools, five universities and around 60 volunteers. Now, there is high demand for their training, creating the potential to expand this model across coastal and island communities. The South of Skye Seas initiative set up a community seagrass monitoring project to feed data to NatureScot to improve local protection measures for priority marine features. The Community Association at Bilox in Sands. Thank you very much for taking my intervention. Will you join me in congratulating the community in Stranraer, who have successfully held two oyster festivals and in 2019 had 17,000 people visit? Stranraer and Loch Raihan has the very last remaining natural native oyster beds, and it declare an interest as the champion for oyster beds. I look forward to their festival in 2022. I would absolutely join you in celebrating them, and it is great to hear their work. The South of Skye Seas initiative set up a community seagrass monitoring project to feed data to NatureScot to improve local protection measures for priority marine features. The Coastal Associations of Lock and Sound's native oyster project in Lachlein generated strong interests from the community, so they worked with the community council to put the marine environment at the heart of Morvan's community action plan. The coastal community's network consists of 19 wonderful groups like those, all striving to improve the health of their coastal environments and open up possibilities for more community-controlled sustainable fishing. I am committed to championing them. Their projects benefit communities by strengthening relationships, providing skills and jobs and protecting homes and infrastructure. They benefit nature and help to address climate change by protecting blue carbon locked up in our coastal environments. They benefit the economy. A US study found that each dollar invested in a coastal restoration project saw the return of more than $15. I am proud that Greens are helping to deliver the £55 million nature restoration fund, yet more is needed to build those projects. The small team at Seal Wilding spends most of their time fundraising for small pots of money that do not cover the life of their projects. Community groups, community councils and local councillors are sometimes excluded from marine planning groups such as the Firth of Clyde planning partnership, leading to tensions and disconnect between communities and planners. Coastal community groups want swifter action from Marine Scotland in designing new MPAs when the evidence calls for it and stronger protection for fisheries management measures for existing MPAs. I look forward to the Government consulting on capping fishing activities in inshore waters. Fishers should be involved in the evidence gathering process by using remote electronic monitoring on vessels. We must deliver a just transition by supporting fishers to move from dredging or trawling to forms of lower impact fishing. We could start by establishing a knowledge sharing programme for Scottish fishers to learn from their Norwegian counterparts, who have successfully adapted to a new framework for managing coastal waters on an ecosystem basis. That has resulted in vibrant recovered fisheries that provide more jobs than dredging could. The new economics foundation found that allowing UK fish stocks to return to healthy levels would create an additional £268 million in gross economic benefit and almost 5,000 new jobs. Yes, coastal communities need good jobs, but it does not have to be a trade-off. Communities, fishers and nature are independent. Local communities are already working in support of nature by restoring and regenerating our coasts and seas, but they need support. Let's invest, enable and revitalise our coastal communities, and the positive effects will ripple out. I congratulate Arian Burgess for securing debating time on this important topic. 19 community groups across Scotland together from the coastal communities network, two are located in my constituency of Cunningham North. The most recently established one, Fairly Coastal Trust, has already made valuable contributions to local community-based initiatives. It includes the Wild Oysters project, which saw 1,300 native oysters being returned to the waters of the Firth of Clyde. Native oysters, whose populations have declined by 95 per cent due to human activity, helped to restore healthy, resilient coastal waters in the Clyde and across Scotland by filtering pollutants from the sea and acting as an important habitat for marine wildlife, as we have already heard from Arian. In December 2020, I led my own debate in this chamber, inspired by the second coastal community group in my constituency, the community of Arian Seabed Trust Coast, and the fantastic work that they have done in Cabain for and supporting the establishment of Scotland's first no-take zone in Larmash Bay back in 2008. The no-take zone has already clearly demonstrated that marine protection does not only have ecological but also great socioeconomic benefits. There is now a nursery for juvenile fish, particularly cod, while lobsters in the zone and scallots produce six signs more eggs than outside it, thus allowing stocks of fish and shellfish in the waters around the zone to replenish. That has helped to win support from local fishers, too, many of whom had initially been worried about losing a fishing ground and who initially opposed the set-up of the no-take zone. Arian residents and businesses also deem the research undertaken in Larmash Bay to be very important to the local economy through creating and sustaining employment not only in the fishery but also in the eco-tourism sector. The success of the project, following 13 years of campaigning, has been well documented, with seabed habitats springing up again in an area that was previously described as a virtually marine desert and anticipated in half the time. Crucially, carbon-absorbing weeds have also returned to the seabed. That is an area that we must focus on in our fight against global warming. Much of the media coverage about COP26 mainly concentrates on green carbon stores, such as the Amazon or the Congo Basin Forest, when oceans act as the greatest buffer for the climate system, slowing 93 per cent of Earth's carbon dioxide. As a nation almost surrounded by sea, Scotland's marine environment also stores more carbon than the terrestrial environment. We must now act to protect blue carbon habitats and stores to ensure that they do not become sources of carbon emissions, as Scotland's damaged petlands have in recent decades. Restoration work to help to return petlands to a healthy condition and prevent carbon from escaping has been undertaken by the Scottish Government and continues. More must be done to protect and enhance Scotland's blue carbon stores. I welcome that, in last year's shared policy programme, the Scottish Government specifically committed to restoring marine habitats in Scotland's inshore waters, recognising that those waters contain valuable blue carbon hotspots. In particular, I am delighted that the Scottish Government will add to the existing marine protection area network by designating a suite of highly protected marine areas covering at least 10 per cent of our seas by 2026. It is my understanding that the development of the highly protected marine areas goes even beyond no-take zones by providing for the strict control of exclusion of all human activities, not just fishing. Those economic opportunities associated with restoring coastal environments are particularly vital to considering that Scotland's coastal communities tend to lag behind inland areas with some of the worst levels of economic and social deprivation in the country. The three towns area in my own constituency is no exception to this phenomenon and I am hopeful that Scottish Government plans to restore coastal environments will present sustainable economic opportunities to communities in Scotland's seaside towns and dovetail well with marine regeneration work to take place in a droswn, both through direct Scottish Government investment and the extra growth deal. In conclusion, I like to again highlight the important work done by the coastal community's network, including fairly coastal trust and the community of our and seabed trust. The important role played by Scotland's living coastal and marine habitats and geological settlements covering Scotland's seafloor has for too long been underestimated, but I am optimistic that the actions that the Scottish Government is now taking to restore marine habitats and ensure that waters will greatly benefit our climate as well as the social and economic opportunities of coastal communities. I now call Jamie Halcro Johnston to be followed by Carol Mawkin up to four minutes, please, Mr Halcro Johnston. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Can I congratulate Arian Burgess on bringing this debate to the chamber today? As a fellow Highlands and Islands MSP, she will know well that our region has a relationship with our seas that is long, often complex and sometimes difficult, while our seas have been at times an obstacle to be overcome, standing in the way of communication, travel and interaction. As Arian Burgess suggests and highlighted, our coasts have also been a vital source of food, trade, employment and leisure since the earliest times. Around a fifth of Scotland's population, including myself, live within a kilometre of the coast and it shapes the communities around it. It is because of the significance of our coastline to Scotland as a whole, that work to preserve and revitalise coastal communities with an emphasis on the preservation of our environmental heritage is so pressing. The challenge for those coastal communities is to find the balance between the coast as an essential working resource and as a habitat that merits preservation. Our impact must be sustainable, because when we look at climate change and ecological damage, our coasts are at the forefront. Even subtle changes to the environment can have a considerable impact on plant and animal life. Coastal erosion can act as a wrecking ball and have an enormous impact on the communities nearby, most notably increasing flooding and other risks. While in action has its cost, poor quality management can also create enduring problems too. Local communities are often best placed to find and balance the solutions and the priorities that are most necessary to them. Public bodies, whether local authorities or national level groups such as Nature's Scott, are at their best when they are working closely with the communities that they serve. These communities need to be sustainable as well. It is recognising the human element—those who have for generations worked the sea—that we find a need to ensure that it continues to be a valued resource. Travelling home to Orkney I Pass, the now-deserted island of Stroma in the Pentland Firth, 100 years ago it had nearly 300 inhabitants. It is now just an island of sheep and abandoned houses, and a community lost. Looking forward in shore fisheries will remain an important part of our coastal economy, and working with these sectors will be a key part of driving forward change. Decades of oil and gas extraction have brought benefits to a number of coastal communities in my region, particularly in Orkney and Shetland. A credible fair transition process away from oil and gas will be essential, a fact that is well understood by those communities, but it will need the support of government at all levels. Above all, our coasts can work for us too, and they must play a key role in any sustainable economic transition. Their potential contribution to renewable energy is everything from offshore wind, marine energy projects to harness hydrogen power, and so much more will be essential if we are to manage that process of change effectively. Give these communities the tools, and they will thrive. All the while, the sea will remain, if managed appropriately, the world's biggest carbon capture and storage facility. I appreciate that there has been a renewed interest in our coast. Today's motion commends the work of the coastal communities network and organisation composed of community groups heavily concentrated in our region. The individual and collective work of these bodies has been impressive. I am sure that the Minister will have something to say about the Scottish Government's efforts through mechanisms like the Nature Restoration Fund, for example. I was also pleased to hear that Scotland Office Minister Ian Stewart spoke yesterday about the role of coastal communities in the UK Government's levelling up agenda, including support for sustaining and repurposing ports and harbours and additional backing to improve the long-term prospects of our fishing industry. Deputy Presiding Officer, working with our seas and working with them sustainably is deeply embedded in the traditions of my region. Today, we recognise communities taking up that mantle. Our coast is a great asset for us, and on a note of optimism, much of it is in good condition and materially better off than a generation ago. However, there is more that can be achieved and new challenges on the horizon. Change must happen, and both government and communities must play an active and collaborative role in that process. I now call Cara Mocken, to be followed by Jenny Minto up to four minutes. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer, and may I thank Arrian Burgess for bringing this debate to the chamber. Across the whole of the UK, we are deeply fortunate to live on such a spectacular and unique island, furnished with incredible coastline, which has for centuries provided us with food, employment and leisure. The environmental wealth present across Scotland when we head to the coast is abundant, and without it, our entire culture would be different altogether. For that, I am immensely thankful, and I know, speaking to my constituents, that it is perhaps the thing that they love most about the region. However, in order to maintain that, we have to begin to see the coast as a delicate ecosystem with varied needs and challenges. From erosion to the loss of seagrass, we need a thriving coastline to prevent not just the local environment, but the environment of our whole country. It is widely reasonable, and it is one that I am sure all of us in this chamber take very seriously. Whether that is the work mentioned in the motion or the effort to reintroduce oysters to the Firth of Clyde in my own region, every step requires diligent planning and the encouragement of new generations that this is a natural resource and we must protect. Part of doing so requires making our coastal communities economically prosperous, which will serve as a strong foundation from which further environmental work can take place. The decline in fishing in so many of Scotland's coastal communities has broken our economic link with the shore, and with it a lot of poverty has followed. South of Scotland is home to some of our country's most beautiful and vibrant coastal communities, communities that, for many decades, were vital holiday resorts and getaways for families from across Scotland. The way in which people travel and take holidays may have changed over time, but in many of those brilliant towns and villages, income from tourism is absolutely vital to their continued prosperity. That must be encouraged and incentivised in a sustainable way, and I hope that one of the few advantages of Covid has been showing the public just how wonderful a time they can have at home on the cliffs and the beaches of my region and many others across Scotland. With that tourism, however, comes increased pollution and particular littering. The South Ayrshire clean-up campaign picked up 1 million pieces of litter alone last year, with a great deal of that being found in coastal towns such as Ayr, Preswick and Trun. Much of that litter ends up on beaches and inevitably on the sea, where it continues the cycle and is often deposited elsewhere. That is on top of the sewage that is pumped out into the sea, creating further ecological problems for wildlife that are often already struggling. Birds and marine life, in particular, are adversely affected by that build-up, and over time it leads to loss of habitat, food sources and inevitably life. As Arianne Burch's motion details a key facet of solving that problem is to provide volunteers and organisations with means to set up community-led nature restoration projects that are both economically viable and environmentally sustainable. Only then will we much more directly tackle pollution and environmental decline. It cannot be entirely top-down, and the private companies that create so much pollution must be held financially responsible. Without that financial support, it is left to well-meaning groups who are reliant on very limited fundraising and the goodwill of volunteers. The Government and big business must do more. To conclude, our coastline is one of Scotland's greatest natural assets. It is a home to all manner of flora and fauna, and for many people it is also the place that they are from and have raised their families. I would like to see a much greater emphasis on the key role such areas play in our nation during this Parliament, and, as such, I reiterate my gratitude to Arianne Burch's for bringing this very important debate to the chamber. I, too, would like to congratulate Arianne Burch's for securing a debate on the importance of Scotland's coastal environments. The diversity of the contributions today really emphasises that. The local authority area of Argyll and Bute has a coastline longer than that of France, and almost 80 per cent of its population lives within one kilometre of the coast. The natural asset that is the sea is integral to how communities the length and breadth of Argyll and Bute live, work and play. In his 1703 journal, A Description of the Western Isles, Martin Martin told of the Lewisoch water spirit, Shawnee. Each year, one of the community would wade into the sea carrying a cup full of ale, and would cry, Shawnee, I give you this cup of ale, hoping that thou will send us plenty of seaware for enriching our ground during the coming year, seaware being seaweed, an organic and sustainable fertilizer. And now, 320 years later, we face the challenge to sustainably support our coastal communities and to ensure that we are meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs, as the UN definition of sustainability states. Researching for this speech and speaking to my constituents in Argyll and Bute, one consistent piece of advice kept coming up, look to Norway. Our two countries have many similarities, but the one that struck me as relevant in this debate is that both Scotland and Norway have extensive ocean areas, both six times greater than their land mass. The Norwegian Ministry of Climate and Environment says, the sea bed and water are biological treasure troves that we will both protect and harvest in a sustainable manner. Norway effectively manages its marine areas, while also ensuring that the environment is looked after, and that is based on knowledge. Researchers across different disciplines are involved in preparing a scientific basis for the management plans. We are doing this in Scotland, but we should be mainstreaming it. Here are a couple of examples of how Argyll and Bute is contributing to this work. The Scottish Association for Marine Science, SAMS, has been working for healthy oceans since 1884. They study the process that drives the marine system to understand how our coastal environment responds to ever-increasing man-made pressures. When I visited SAMS in November last year, they were about to launch a robotic device to measure the ocean's temperature from Scotland to Iceland. Knowledge like that can help to develop a sustainable blue economy for the benefit of people without degrading the sea's health and productivity. SAMS also works with community groups such as South West Moll and Iona Development, and they have created a six-hectare sugar sea kelp farm at Airdfada. Seaweed farming is a growing global industry, and seaweed is in high demand for a multitude of uses from culinary to agriculture, bioplastics to cosmetics. As mentioned in the motion, sea wilding on Loch Craignish is working with all stakeholders to improve the health of the Loch to increase biodiversity and generate green jobs and aid community welfare and wellbeing. Those who have lived and worked by the sea for generations need to be listened to. Communities must be at the heart of nature restoration and the stewardship of their environment. At this point, I want to mention the Clyde Cod box. On the one hand, I represent the fishers whose livelihoods were being negatively impacted, and on the other, I recognise that we have a duty to ensure that our seas are sustainable. It is a complex issue, one that needs balance, one that needs fishers, environmentalists and scientists to work together. I am pleased that the Scottish Government has listened and acted on the concerns raised, and a revised SSI has been laid before Parliament. I, of course, made my own representations on behalf of my constituents and their interests. A proportionate way forward has been found. I recognise that not everyone is 100 per cent happy with the decision, but I am pleased that the Scottish Government has agreed to continue to work closely with local stakeholders to ensure that the policy meets its intent. We should be looking to the strengths of coastal communities to help to solve the problems rather than trying to solve them centrally. As Sea Wilding says, the sea belongs to all of us. Thank you. I now call Colin Smyth to be followed by Alasdor Allan up to four minutes please, Mr Smyth. Thank you, Presiding Officer, and thank you to Ariane Burgess for lodging her motion and providing this very welcome opportunity to discuss the challenges, but also the opportunities for our coastal communities. I have the privilege of representing the south of Scotland and as many stunning coastal towns and villages, including Loch Rai, which, as we have heard, is home to Scotland's only remaining nature natural oyster bed. I will make no apology for giving yet another plug to the annual Strunrar oyster festival, which sadly has been missing for the last three years, but hopefully will return again in 2022. Many of our coastal communities are under threat from the climate and nature emergencies that we face. The recent storms hit many of those communities hard and exposed their fragility. The Government's dynamic coast project research was stark. Rise and sea level in coastal erosion will put around £1.2 billion worth of Scotland's infrastructure at risk by 2050. At least £20 billion of assets, road, rail and residential properties, lie within 50 metres of our coast. Crucially, nature protects some £14.5 billion of those assets, with research highlighting that natural defences such as sand dunes protect three times the value of roads, railways and buildings than sea walls, so investment in that nature-based solution is absolutely essential. However, we should not fall into the trap of not recognising that also supporting and investing in other forms of coastal defences is hugely important to those communities. I have seen the work of communities such as the Castorm development group on the Solway coast who carried out a remarkable rescue job to give residents peace of mind by building new rock-sea defences after years of storm damage eroded the coastline and put homes at risk. As the motion highlights, it is the communities themselves who are often at the heart of the work to protect our coastal towns and villages, whether that is natural defences or otherwise. I want to add my thanks to the work of the coastal communities network and its 19 community groups across Scotland, including the Berwickshire Marine Reserve and my own South Scotland region. The community-led voluntary organisation is taking part in collaborative research projects with the Blue Marine Foundation and has developed a virtual visitor centre to encourage sustainability, engagement and inclusivity. The Berwickshire Marine Reserve sits within a protected area, which means that fishers cannot use toad gear, troils, dredgers or nets to catch fish to ensure that there is minimum damage to other marine life. The group works closely with local fishers to promote sustainability and responsible fishing. It is an example of how community-led conservation can help to protect the local biodiversity while working alongside and promoting a commercial sustainable fishing industry, which has played such an important role in shaping the community over the decades. We need to do an awful lot more to promote sustainable fishing. I do not think that the recent Green SMP coalition agreement goes far enough on. That agreement does not say anything for example about ending over fishing or incentivising sustainable fishing and nothing about ending the wasteful practice of discarding, both of which have resulted in declining fish populations and fishing jobs and are at odds with a rising demand for sustainable seafood. There is also no mention of reform and quota so that the marine and fish resources are no longer in the hands of a few individuals and companies, but instead of reform to be given to those who can best deliver the environmental, economic and social outcomes that we want to see. The Scottish Government did not take up the opportunity to deliver a Scottish Fisheries Act, which would have allowed Scotland more control over the framework for negotiations and has instead opted to rely on the UK Fisheries Act. However, the decisions on fisheries management in Scotland are still very much rest with Scottish ministers, and it is the Scottish Government's responsibility to provide the foundations needed for the fishery industry to operate sustainably and to meet its fullest potential. Achieving that is absolutely a crucial part of preserving and protecting our precious marine environment and promoting the sustainable economic future that we all want to see for our coastal communities. I thank Arrian Burgess for bringing this important debate to the chamber. Here in Scotland, as others have said, we are fortunate to enjoy a wealth of diverse coastlines, rich in both natural resources and natural environment. Our coastal communities from Stranraer to Stornoway and beyond are based, however, on an array of unique challenges, including the protection of the land and sea around them. While the beaches of the Hebrides are renowned for their crystal clear waters and clean white sand, as we have heard from others, we unfortunately still face significant challenges when it comes to protecting those marine environments from litter and pollution. Also, issues such as affordable housing and sufficient transport links to the population continue to threaten the resilience of our island communities against the backdrop of the climate and nature emergencies. I was recently contacted by a constituent in the Isle of Lewis who, for instance, is deeply concerned about the erosion of an embankment, which previously safeguarded the foreshore adjacent to his village. Over the past 10 years, that embankment has gradually been eroded, leading to a situation now described by a council engineer as critical. If no action were taken to protect what remains, the inland area that is forming part of the machar, a type of low-lying fertile land unique to the west coast of Scotland, risks becoming permanently underwater. Coastal erosion is just one thing that will endanger our coastal communities in the future. It is clearly not only for the future, though it is clearly having a detrimental impact already. That is just one of the many difficulties that we need to address urgently to preserve and protect our coastlines and the communities who live by them. The coastal communities network provides an important platform for communication and support between the residents of coastal locations across Scotland. I share their belief that it is coastal communities themselves who are best placed to harness the most effective long-term solutions for the sustainable management of the seas around them. The management of our seas must include input from all local stakeholders, not least those who make their living from marine resources. Our marine environment must be protected while continuing to play its part in the diverse local economies of our coastal areas. Representing the coastal communities network in my constituency, the organisation Clean Coast Hebrides has been working tirelessly since its formation in 2018 to tackle the plastic waste, which sadly washes up on our many beautiful beaches. Collaborating with the local authorities, schools, community organisations and individuals, their beach cleans help to engage local communities in their work and to raise awareness of the importance of marine conservation with a focus on educating and involving younger people in particular. This spirit of collaboration is essential within local communities and across the network of coastal communities, as well as at local and national government levels, in order to best protect and conserve our marine environment for the generations to come. It is also important that the economic resilience, as I have said, of our coastal communities is fully considered in any and all policy. The voices of those in the fishing industry must be listened to as fishers continue to adapt their practices to become more sustainable. To conclude, the restoration and sustainable development of our coastal areas should be community-focused and community-led, building on the on-going work of organisations such as those in the coastal communities network in order for us to play our part in tackling the climate and nature emergencies. I now call Minister Mary McCallan to respond to the debate up to seven minutes. My thanks to Arian Burgess for this important motion and to all members who have contributed to this afternoon's debate. The Scottish Government's vision for the marine environment is one that is clean, healthy, safe, productive and diverse and which is managed to meet the long-term needs of nature and people. That includes managing our seas sustainably to protect their rich biological diversity and ensuring that our marine ecosystems continue to provide economic, social and wider benefits for people, industry and society. On that point, there is much agreement across the chamber today. Arian Burgess pointed out the multiple co-benefits of a healthy, thriving ecosystem, be that in the provision of protein, of flood defences, of ecotourism and good local jobs. Finlay Carson drew that point out with regard to the Strunrar festival. Colin Smyth and Dr Allan were absolutely right to mention the importance of natural defences. Carol Mockin reminded us of the wonderful holidaying opportunities that we are so lucky to have in this maritime nation of ours. As we contemplate and consider what we need to do at home, Jenny Minto provided her particularly sage advice to lift our eyes and to consider how friends around the world deal with those matters. That consensus, which I think has been on-show today, is very welcome because it is more essential than ever that we look after Scotland's coasts and waters so that they can continue to help us for generations to come. Scotland's marine assessment was published in December 2020, and it showed that Scotland still has a long way to go to achieve good environmental status. We went up to that and we have made clear that, as a Government, we see biodiversity loss as a challenge to be tackled on par with the climate crisis. In the face of those dual crises, we are redoubling our efforts to protect species and restore nature across Scotland, working closely with community organisations. We are working across the board to achieve that. As part of our 2021-22 programme for Governments, we committed to developing a blue economy vision for managing Scotland's marine environment and supporting coastal communities. It will provide a clear framework for decisions about the use of Scotland's marine environment and support wider ambitions on net zero and biodiversity and recognising crucially the interconnectedness of social, economic and environmental outcomes. Just as an example of that interconnectedness, the future fisheries management strategy forms one of the cornerstones of the blue economy approach. It sets out a vision for Scotland to be a world-class fishing nation, delivering responsible and sustainable fisheries management, which provides access to high protein, low-carbon food. Just to pick up on Colin Smyth's comments, I would point him to the management strategy for a number of the comments on sustainability, etc. However, we know that if we are to meet the challenge of nature restoration and make the most of the opportunities that it presents, ambitious moves are required at local level, working with those and delivered by those who are best placed to understand their needs and to deliver on the actions. That is why we are pioneering actions led by coastal communities. I had the pleasure of meeting the coastal communities network in November. They are absolutely key to this approach, providing an invaluable connection to coastal communities and their unique knowledge and expertise. I am glad that Ms Burge's motion highlights the restoration project at Loch Crignish, which is an important example of how communities can make a real difference in their local area. Blue carbon habitats have a key role to play globally in climate change adaptation and mitigation, as well as being an essential part of our marine biodiversity. They provide a range of goods and services that underpin the natural resources of our seas. With funding from the Scottish Government's Biodiversity Challenge Fund, which one of my colleagues mentioned, and in partnership with Project Seagrass and the Scottish Association of Marine Science, the community charity Sea Wilding, which has been discussed today, is delivering Scotland's first community-led sea grass restoration project. Sea Wilding provides a unique model for restoration projects, bringing together local communities, providing opportunities to learn about marine science, conservation and climate change, and, crucially, sharing expertise to enable other restoration projects to flourish. I want to touch on our marine protected areas. Within the MPA network, many habitats that are protected capture and store blue carbon. We are committed to putting in place the remaining management measures by 2024 to protect marine features within MPAs. I know that that was something that Ariane Burgess mentioned. That will allow the recovery or the natural restoration of those habitats by removing the major pressures that affect them. In addition, we have just launched a public consultation on the permanent designation of the Red Rocks and Longa MPA. The new site was initially identified following evidence by citizen scientists and will protect a nationally important nursery area for the critically endangered flappersgate. I am very proud of the nimble and speedy approach that the Scottish Government was able to take to protect that vital habitat. We will go further still. As my colleague Kenneth Gibson mentioned, we have committed to designating at least 10 per cent of Scotland's seas as highly protected marine areas by 2026 across inshore and offshore waters. HPMAs will greatly enhance the existing network of MPAs, providing an additional level of marine protection and to confirm that they will exclude all-extractive, destructive or depositional activities while allowing only non-damaging levels in other activities. MPAs will present a major advance in conserving our marine biodiversity and will place Scotland at the very forefront of international efforts. Of course, we will pursue that in very close consultation and collaboration with coastal communities and with other sea users, including fishers. As well as developing world-led protected areas, the Scottish Government is supporting grass-roots action through the Nature Restoration Fund. The fund will work across Scotland to create new jobs, reinvigorate local communities and reinforce Scotland's green recovery. It is part of a £500 million investment in our natural environment. In conclusion, the Scottish Government continues to be committed to tackling the twin crises of biodiversity loss and climate change while supporting our coastal communities and the important socio-economic developments that we wish to see there.