In 2011 the Fair Isle Marine Environment and Tourism Initiative (FIMETI), a small community-led body from Fair Isle, developed a proposal for the Fair Isle DR MPA. Five years later, after the production of a series of documents, clarifications, meetings, and assessments, the Fair Isle DR MPA was designated and legally brought into force on the 9th November 2016. It remains the only DR MPA in Scotland’s seas.
DR MPAs have the potential to be a powerful vehicle for community-led marine protection in Scotland. They are a relatively untested form of marine management, and thus there is a vast, as yet untapped, potential in their application and impact. Understanding the process of, and the lessons learned from, Scotland’s only DR MPA is therefore of vital importance.
Through providing detail on the background and rationale behind the Fair Isle DR MPA, FIMETI’s key steps towards designation, the challenges the proposal came up against, and the solutions formed along the way, it is hoped that this paper can help others who might be considering developing a DR MPA proposal.