‘Beyond priceless’: how a halt to dredging saved the seas of Scotland’s Summer Isles
The community of Scotland's Summer Isles is celebrating a decade since a ban on scallop dredging was implemented in their waters. The ban has led to a significant recovery of marine life, including the protection of rare maerl seaweed beds.
Why it matters
This success story serves as a case study for the effectiveness of marine protected areas in restoring damaged ecosystems.
People in the Summer Isles hold a weekend-long Maerl and Herring festival to celebrate 10 years of a ban on dredging for scallops, which has sparked a dramatic revival of marine life. People in the Summer Isles hold a weekend-long Maerl and Herring festival to celebrate 10 years of a ban on dredging for scallops, which has sparked a dramatic revival of marine life. Seascape: the state of our oceans Scotland ‘Beyond priceless’: how a halt to dredging saved the seas of Scotland’s Summer Isles Fish and shellfish populations were falling rapidly as scallop dredgers devastated the seabed, but local activists and small-scale fishers battled hard to protect their coastline
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