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Shetland Islands dominant marine biotope map as determined by the distribution models within the 12nm limit of Shetland.
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Shetland’s marine environment, a diverse ecosystem, is important for various habitats and species. This report presents the results of a habitat distribution model developed for Shetlands inshore marine environment (MLWS to 12nm offshore), providing detailed potential biotope distribution information. These results provide the foundational work for...
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Citations
... Shetland's waters support a rich diversity of marine life, including species of international conservation importance, from horse mussel beds to killer whales, and commercially valuable stocks such as cod, haddock, monkfish, mackerel, and herring [1]. These species provide a range of benefits to the local community, supporting industries like fisheries and marine tourism, whilst the marine environment offers recreational spaces for residents. ...
Shetland's marine environment supports diverse ecosystems, including species of global conservation importance and commercially valuable fish stocks. These resources underpin critical industries such as fisheries and marine tourism, while offering recreational and cultural benefits to the local community. However, rising challenges, including climate change, pollution, and pressures from marine industries, threaten the region's marine habitats and species. For some species and habitats active restoration efforts are necessary to counteract historic declines, such as seagrass meadows and some seabird populations.
The Marine Restoration and Enhancement Action Plan (MREAP) for Shetland aims to co-create a roadmap tailored to Shetland’s unique environmental and socio-economic needs. The project seeks to guide restoration, and enhancement efforts through a collaborative approach.
Stakeholder Engagement Highlights
A variety of engagement processes were implemented, resulting in feedback from 160 individuals. These included targeted interviews with marine industry, environmental and government groups/organisations, public drop-in sessions, presentation and feedback sessions delivered to nine community councils, and an online survey that was accessible for 60 days.
Key themes emerged from these discussions, providing insights into the Shetland communities restoration and enhancement priorities:
1. Access: Improved infrastructure and accessibility for residents and visitors.
2. Active Restoration or Enhancement Action: Opportunities to restore native species and habitats, such as seagrass meadows and oyster beds.
3. Communication and Education: Enhancing public awareness and promoting marine conservation and sustainable practices through increased communication and educational initiatives.
4. Research and Data: The importance of establishing baseline data and long-term monitoring initiatives.
5. Pressure Removal: Identification of local pressures included marine litter, pollution, and environmental pressures.
Participant responses highlighted key concerns and priorities for action in Shetland’s marine environment. Marine litter was consistently identified as a widespread issue, while the need for establishing baseline data and maintaining ongoing monitoring was strongly emphasised. Participants also expressed a preference for local governance and decision-making in marine restoration and enhancement projects. Where restoration was driven by development mitigation, participants expressed a preference that efforts were as localised to the development as possible (i.e. the same community council area), to ensure measures directly benefit the surrounding environment and community.
Next Steps
The project will continue its engagement strategy, gathering stakeholder feedback to select potential guiding principles for the MREAP and prioritise statements from the initial participant discussions. An online survey will gather responses to refine these priorities, enabling a community-informed approach to Shetland’s marine restoration and enhancement efforts.
... It can also be used to help predict future changes in blue carbon habitats under various scenarios, such as climate change, pollution, and management efforts. UHI Shetland has recently completed work on creating a high resolution map of the modelled distribution of the dominant marine habitats within Shetland's 12nm limit for this purpose 25 (Figure 2). ...
Key Messages
- Informed marine management is essential for leveraging blue carbon as a nature-based climate solution.
- Accurate mapping is crucial for identifying hotspots, guiding conservation efforts, and integrating blue carbon into marine management strategies.
- Modelling can help predict changes and inform restoration strategies.
- Local management measures in Shetland, such as closed areas, protect sensitive habitats and support blue carbon storage.
- Restoration efforts can enhance carbon sequestration and biodiversity support.
- Human activities and climate change pose threats like physical disturbance, ocean acidification, and warming.
- Mapping blue carbon facilitates informed marine management, contributing to global climate goals and coastal environment conservation.
... Distribution Models (DMs) over the years, have solidified their position in marine management, including to recently analyse marine biotopes (Rubanschi et al., 2023), including a recent comprehensive marine assessment within the Shetland Islands (Riley, Shucksmith and Mouat, 2024). Their predictive ability offers invaluable insights into potential habitat distributions, subsequently guiding relevant management directives (de la Torriente et al., 2019). ...
Positioned between the Orkney and Shetland archipelagos in the North Atlantic, the Fair Isle Demonstration and Research Marine Protected Area (DR MPA) plays a crucial role in marine management and conservation efforts. Designated under the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010, it offers a unique opportunity for innovative marine management strategies, focusing on sustainability, conservation, and ecotourism. Limited knowledge exists about the benthic habitats, identified as a research priority in the Fair Isle DR MPA Winter 2020/21 stakeholder consultation. This report focuses on modelling the potential benthic habitat composition within the Fair Isle DR MPA, with an emphasis on Priority Marine Features (PMFs).
Utilising Distribution Models (DMs), this study aims to address this knowledge gap by analysing biotopes with environmental data, providing a baseline for future research, and marine management initiatives. The analysis covers 28 distinct biotope groups, including PMFs, revealing their potential distribution within the Fair Isle DR MPA.
The DMs, employing MaxEnt, demonstrated robust predictive accuracy, as evidenced by high Area Under the Curve (AUC) values during validation. Eleven biotope groups and five PMF-focused subgroups were modelled within the Fair Isle DR MPA, showcasing the efficacy of DMs in delineating potential habitat distributions.
Despite the success of DMs in predicting habitat distributions, the scarcity of biotope records within the designated area underscores the need for expanded data collection efforts within the Fair Isle DR MPA. The report recommends dedicated biotope surveys, long-term monitoring, species-specific studies, and community engagement to enhance our understanding of the marine ecosystem and inform adaptive management strategies.
While the DMs provide a robust starting point, ongoing research efforts are crucial for advancing our understanding of the Fair Isle DR MPA marine environment. This study highlights the importance of localised biotope data for precise mapping and emphasises the need for comprehensive research to foster informed and sustainable marine management practices.
