For years a devoted band of islanders who petitioned for a fishing ban and conservation zone in the waters off Arran were dismissed as "crazy". However, these campaigners were celebrating the news that the UK's first community marine conservation area is to be created just off the island. The Community of Arran Seabed Trust (Coast) hopes the scheme will help pave the way for a network of protected areas around Scotland's coasts by demonstrating its value and overcoming resistance from fishermen and other interested parties. As well as helping preserve marine life, the conservation area is expected to boost tourism and increase the numbers of commercially valuable scallops outside the no-take zone. It is the first time a marine conservation area has been created as a result of a local campaign. Having very concentrated areas of scallops would help the breeding process, as sperm and eggs are simply released into the water .A £4.5 million Outdoor Education Centre has recently been finished at nearby Clauchlands and visiting pupils and students will be able to study the wildlife in the protected area.

Two marine protected areas set up on the Isle of Man have had a significant effect on sealife there, according to a study by York University. The areas, one measuring two kilometres square and the other one kilometre square, were closed to fishing by trawlers and dredgers in 1989 and 2003 respectively. The researchers found that the reproductive biomass of scallops was 33 times greater in the first zone than the surrounding waters. Scallop catches increased by between 50 and 100% on several nearby fishing grounds between 1989 and 2003.

Source: The Scotsman, 22.1.08