UK marine protected areas worth billions
The substantial financial benefits resulting from divers and recreational anglers using areas proposed for marine conservation in the UK have been highlighted in a new study. The findings reveal that, in Scotland alone diving and angling activity in 20 proposed marine protected areas (MPAs) in Scotland is worth between £67 million and £117 million to the economy each year.
WDC welcomes the study that helps to put and added value to marine conservation. “The positive impacts of MPAs for the all-important and ever growing recreational sector, as this study shows, should not be forgotten,” says WDC’s head of Scottish policy, Sarah Dolman.
