Sea police set to form new wave of law enforcement

A SEABORNE police force to tackle environmental marine crime and crack down on abuses of fishing regulations could be established under plans being considered by the Scottish Government.

The Scotsman understands that the Scottish Government is looking at the proposal for a seafaring police force that could also help out the Coastguard in its search-and-rescue duties, as well as HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in its fight against drug smugglers.

The uncosted proposal has been put forward by the Green Party, which hopes its plans can be included in the forthcoming Scottish Marine Bill.

The Greens want to establish an independent marine protection force to police Scotland's inshore waters that would be answerable to Holyrood.

The force would complement the work being done by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency UK and HMRC, which are both under Westminster control.

The "sea police" would monitor the behaviour of Scotland's fishing fleets by making sure they use the correct gear, fish in the correct areas of the sea and do not exceed European fish quotas.

They would also attempt to stop those people who attempt to pollute the sea.

The new maritime force would operate alongside Marine Scotland, the Scottish Government agency set up earlier this year to take over the functions of the Fisheries Research Services and the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency (SFPA), which used to enforce UK, EU and international fisheries laws.

The answer to a parliamentary question lodged by the Green MSP Robin Harper, revealed that there have been a total of 61 breaches of fisheries regulations in the past decade.

Of these 61 breaches of the regulations, only 28 led to a fine.

Mr Harper said: "A strong Marine Bill is vital to the future of Scotland's waters, where sustainability and biodiversity have to be protected alongside the needs of tourism, fisheries and marine renewables. The evidence is that breaches of existing regulations go largely unpunished.

"The answer is for parliament to amend the forthcoming Marine Bill to establish a marine protection force or 'sea police', and the Scottish Greens will bring just such an amendment."

The proposal has been discussed at committee level in the Scottish Parliament and the Liberal Democrats and Labour have shown an interest in it.

The Scotsman understands that the Scottish Government is also willing to look at it.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: "The Scottish Marine Bill, which was officially introduced to parliament at the end of April, will create a new suite of common enforcement powers and enable our marine enforcement officers to ensure proper compliance with the terms of the bill and in the Scottish Offshore Region."