Marine Planning, Policy and Advice

The work of the Marine Planning, Policy and Advice Section is relevant to how resources are utilised within regulatory frameworks and how changes in these can impact on those already accessing the environment or those wishing to do so. 

Many resources within the marine environment are finite, and although the biological ones such as fish and shellfish often spring to mind foremost, the utilisable geographic space for natural and human development and activities is also of vital importance as the diversity, complexity and scale of maritime industry expands. 

The importance of marine spatial planning has been highlighted in recent years with the acknowledgement that defining the current geographic extent and sensitivity of natural and human activities within the marine environment to inform planned developments is a much more robust, efficient and potentially less controversial process than relying on assessments and consultations following a more speculative approach. 

Local stakeholder involvement in defining current and potential exploitable and non-exploited resources is vital in defining the social, biological, historical and economic value of 'seaspace', as regulations that define how the marine environment and resources are managed cannot generally incorporate all of these considerations as yet.  As such 'regionalised' mechanisms hopefully develop and increasingly inform policy and regulation, there will continue to be a need to analyse and assess the impacts of new local, national centralised and European policies on communities.

The section carries out this function and passes information to local stakeholder groups including industry, decision makers and lobbying bodies.  In certain circumstances where the section has specific and specialised expertise, the remit extends to the provision of advice to stakeholder groups on how they might respond to changes in policy.