The change means the Scottish Government will control issues including offshore wind farms, conservation areas and new fish farms.  Westminster will retain its powers to grant licences to the oil and gas industries.

Richard Lochhead, the environment secretary, said the decision to increase the Scottish Government's powers would "help safeguard the seas for generations to come. With Scottish waters being managed as a whole by the Scottish Government, we will now have modern and streamlined management of our seas and the many industries that depend on them."

Ann McKechin, parliamentary under secretary of state at the Scotland Office, said the UK government had "taken the lead" in creating legislation that would bring a "much-needed simplicity to the management and preservation of our coastline and our seas. We have given the Scottish Government the power to draw up detailed plans for the seas around the Scottish coastline between 12 and 200 nautical miles and, with our agreement, the plans will comprehensively cover all activities in the offshore area, whether reserved or devolved."

The decision to grant increased powers to Scotland for control of its seas is being seen as a rare example of Westminster and Holyrood working together.The decisions were agreed through the Joint Ministerial Committee, that exists to resolve issues between the devolved administrations and the UK government. This is being seen as the first significant success of the committee.

Tapping marine energies
Engineers are now urging the Scottish Government to set up a £40m fund to help launch marine energy projects.
They claim match-funding is needed to help developers bridge the “chasm” between prototype devlopment and commercial exploitation. Developers believe wave and tidal energy and its global spin-off could be worth as much as North Sea oil and gas to the economy.

These opportunities are too great to miss, according to the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IME). It is thought that Scotland has the potential to provide 10% of Europe’s wave energy and a quarter of the continent’s tidal power. Noting past and present Scottish administrations help, the Institute is now urging this must be capitalised on to secure a multibillion-pound industry. Along with renewable energy companies, it wants to see political leadership from Edinburgh and Westminster.

IME is now calling for investment in the national grid, and in skills, particularly drawing on the expertise available in the North Sea. Some 145,000 people are involved in the oil and gas industry in Scotland. It was claimed that a £40m fund would go a long way to securing a marine energy industry that could be worth £2bnby 2020 in the UK and much more globally.

Martin McAdam, CEO of Aquamarine Power, believes the returns could be on an equivalent scale to oil and gas and even bigger with the right support. "We can grow this industry into a $100bn industry,” he said. “We can only grow the industry into that size if we have the fabrications facilities, if we have the people who have the skills to make these devices, if we have people who understand manufacturing and production.

“I think the Scottish Government has a huge role, along with academia, to help companies move from producing one or two devices to producing hundreds.”

The £40m fund could be used as match funding to minimise the perceived risk of investors. The development of renewables would also protect the economy from the volatility of the oil and gas market, it has been claimed.

Liberal Democrat energy spokesman Liam McArthur said it was vital that hubs like the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC), in Orkney, retain their international competitive edge.

Energy Minister Jim Mather said £10m was being used to support wave and tidal energy projects around Scotland and a further £2.5m towards infrastructure projects at EMEC. “The issue of further support for the sector will be examined by the Forum for Renewable Energy Development,” he said.

Labour energy spokesman Lewis Macdonald said ministers had given no indication of whether or not they intended to continue funding for the Wave and Tidal Energy Scheme (WATES), which has provided £13.5m to nine marine projects since its launch in October 2006. “I am certain that these issues will be considered by the Scottish Parliament's economy committee when we take forward our energy inquiry into the new year,” he said.

Sources:http:www.scotsman.com 
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