Scotland’s First Marine and Coastal Restoration Plan – Why Your Voice Matters
By Jessica Shaw, YSCS Trainee
Background
Scotland’s seas and coasts are among the most diverse and stunning on the planet. From lush seagrass meadows and towering kelp forests to the colourful machair of the Western Isles, these habitats teem with life. But they don’t just support wildlife – they support us, too! They lock away carbon to help tackle climate change, provide nurseries for fish that sustain our fisheries, shield communities from flooding and erosion, and offer places to relax, recharge, and connect with nature.
However, despite their value, our marine and coastal environment is under threat. Climate change, pollution, and human activities such as coastal development and unsustainable fisheries are putting immense pressure on these ecosystems. If we don’t act now, we risk losing these natural treasures and the benefits they bring to all of us.
To meet this challenge, the Scottish Government has drafted Scotland’s first Marine and Coastal Restoration Plan. This plan is a landmark step for ocean recovery and delivers on the vision for a nature positive Scotland outlined in Scotland’s Biodiversity Strategy to 2045.
The plan aims to take a strategic, coordinated approach to support active restoration – which means creating or reintroducing habitats and species - to rebuild ecosystem health and resilience. Existing projects, such as Seawilding’s community-led marine habitat restoration in Loch Craignish and Restoration Forth in the Firth of Forth, are happening in isolation. What is missing is a national framework to unite these efforts, scale up restoration, and maximise potential ecological, economic and social benefits of habitat and species recovery.
Scotland’s marine environment belongs to us all and this plan will only succeed if it reflects the needs and ideas of the people it serves. This is where you come in.
How Can You Contribute?
The government is consulting on their draft plan, and they want to hear from you! The consultation runs from 29th July to 19th October 2025.
The consultation asks for your thoughts on the plan’s:
Objectives and themes: Are they clear and important?
Actions and priorities: How can we best support the restoration sector?
Gaps or missing areas: Are there habitats, species, or places that need more attention?
Monitoring and evaluation: How should progress be tracked and decisions reviewed to be fair for all, including young people?
What to Expect
Taking part is easy. You can share your views online through the Citizen Space platform. Once there, you’ll see different sections you can respond to. You’ll be asked to comment on the plan’s aims, scope and definitions, prioritise the objectives under each of the themes in the plan, and suggest what you think is missing.
You don’t need to answer every question, and you can save your progress and come back to it any time before 19th October!
Take Action Now
Restoring Scotland’s seas and coasts is a team effort and every response matters. By sharing your views, you can help create a restoration plan that is stronger, fairer, and more effective.
Remember: it’s your seas, your say!
For more guidance on completing consultations, see our ‘how to respond to a consultation’ toolkit. You can also read more in our policy brief titled ‘Scotland’s First Marine and Coastal Restoration Plan’
