Ocean Life Returns to Scottish Waters

A special sea area in Scotland is showing good signs of recovery. In the past, illegal fishing boats damaged the ocean floor here. This area is the Wester Ross Marine Protected Area. It covers about six hundred square kilometers of inland waters. Glaciers shaped this beautiful sea floor after the last ice age. The seabed has flame shells and a pink seaweed. People call this beautiful pink seaweed by the name maerl. These plants and shells protect sea cucumbers, scallops, and sea urchins. In 2019, a fishing boat illegally dragged heavy gear here. The boat wanted to catch scallops from the mud. This dredging destroyed the marine environment near Eilean Dubh island. Divers went under the water and saw the terrible damage. Now, scientists use a small underwater drone to check the area. The drone has a camera to look at the seabed. The scientists are very happy because some life is returning. They saw crabs, cat sharks, and cushion sea stars. They also found many sea cucumbers on the sand. But the complex ecosystem needs a long time to return. A conservation group named Open Seas monitored this damaged site. The group wants to protect the Scottish coastal waters. Phil Taylor is the director of this conservation group. He wants to protect the cod fish here. In the past, cod were very common in this place. Now, cod fish are rare because of heavy fishing. On Tuesday, activists will walk to the Scottish parliament. More than sixteen thousand people signed this new petition. They want the government to ban dredging in more areas. They believe the government is too slow to help. The government says it takes marine protection very seriously.