Guiding Shetland’s Marine Future: Community-Led Principles for Restoration

UHI Shetland is pleased to present the findings from the second phase of the ‘Marine Restoration and Enhancement in Shetland’ project. The project was funded via Marine Fund Scotland, which is part of the Scottish Governments’ Delivering Scotland’s Blue Economy Vision.

This project, led by UHI Shetland, builds upon initial community engagement conducted in autumn 2024, which engaged local communities and stakeholders to identify challenges and opportunities for marine restoration and enhancement in the Shetland Islands. This phase focused on refining guiding principles and assessing agreement about potential restoration actions identified by the community in the initial phase that align with the perspectives of Shetland’s diverse public, industry, governmental, and environmental sectors.

The Importance of Shetland's Marine Environment

Shetland’s seas deliver a range of benefits to the Shetland community, from fisheries to marine tourism and recreation. However, in some places marine life has historically been lost for a range of reasons, including disease, and with it the benefits we might get from the seas reduced. For example, Shetland’s seagrass beds, which are important nursery grounds for fish, have largely been lost due to an Atlantic wide outbreak of wasting disease and at the coast predators such as rats can impact breeding birds. Marine enhancement and restoration efforts aim to restore the health of these important ecosystems, ensuring a sustainable future for Shetland’s marine environment. The guiding principles, shaped by the input of the Shetland community will focus on maintaining and enhancing Shetland’s unique and dynamic marine environment.

Community Engagement and Stakeholder Input

During this feedback phase, which included an online survey, public drop-in sessions, talks, and stakeholder discussions, a total of 271 individuals from across Shetland contributed their insights. Survey responses highlighted widespread support (93%) for incorporating guiding principles into marine restoration efforts, with top priorities including:

• Effective knowledge-sharing (95% agreement)
• Continuous stakeholder engagement (92% agreement)
• Safeguarding Shetland’s marine heritage (92% agreement)

Respondents strongly supported local data collection and continuous monitoring (89%), alongside marine litter removal initiatives (85%). These priorities were consistently emphasised across all stakeholder groups during the project's initial phase. These insights helped refine the proposed guiding principles and potential key actions for marine restoration and enhancement in Shetland going forward, with the full findings and guiding principles now published on the research gate website.

Moving Forward

The findings from this project will contribute to the development of a document aimed at guiding future marine restoration and enhancement efforts in Shetland. This document will:

• Outline the guiding principles to support and inform local marine restoration initiatives.
• Highlight key themes and corresponding potential opportunities for actions.
• Feature case studies showcasing successful marine restoration projects already undertaken in Shetland.

Scheduled for release this summer, the final document will serve as a guide for marine restoration and enhancement initiatives, including government or philanthropically funded projects, to NGO and research activities, as well as developer-led actions, addressing both ecological and community needs through ongoing collaboration, informed decision-making, and a commitment to long-term sustainability.

“The response from the Shetland community has been invaluable in shaping the direction of this project,” said Tanya Riley, Marine Scientist at UHI Shetland. “The engagement and contributions from both local stakeholders, and the public has been key in ensuring that we produce a set of relevant guiding principles for marine restoration and enhancement that are aligned with the unique needs and perspectives of Shetland.”