On this day in 2016, the Fair Isle Demonstration and Research Marine Protected Area (MPA) was legally designated under the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010.
Fair Isle DR MPA 10 year anniversary celebrations. Team FIMRO from left to right : Susannah Parnaby, Fiona Mitchell, Neil Thomson and Steven Wilson.
This designation followed a 27-year long campaign by the Fair Isle community to bring sustainable marine management to Fair Isle’s marine environment. The campaign was driven by growing concerns over significant declines in seabird numbers and breeding productivity during the 1980s.
Ten years on, we’re celebrating the remarkable achievements of the Fair Isle community and the Fair Isle Marine Research Organisation (FIMRO), whose dedication, commitment and hard work have helped shape the MPA and its ongoing research and conservation work.
To mark this special anniversary, we’re delighted to share a new video, filmed and produced by Liz Musser, celebrating the Fair Isle Demonstration and Research MPA and the people behind it.
Fair Isle Demonstration and Research MPA 10 year anniversary video filmed and produced by Liz Musser.
On Friday evening, FIMRO hosted a community celebration in Fair Isle to mark this incredible milestone.
The evening was filled with cake, fizz, talks reflecting on the project’s achievements and progress over the past decade, and the premiere of FIMRO’s brand-new 10-year anniversary video! It was wonderful to come together to celebrate how far the project has come and recognise the collective effort that has made it possible. Thank you to all of those who came along to celebrate. Thanks also to Katy Phenix for the amazing cake and Konrad Kaluzinski for taking photos.
Fair Isle celebrations! (c) Konrad Kaluzinski