
Photograph Courtesy of Charlie Phillips
What We Do
As the local coastal partnership for the Moray Firth and its 800kms of coastline, we are involved with a wide variety of issues, projects, and stakeholders. Our unique overview of the Moray Firth, its communities and businesses, allows us the privilege to work with a great range of people and ideas.
Our current work includes:
Marine and coastal litter – as one of the main threats to all the world’s oceans, litter and pollution is as prevalent an issue in and around the Moray Firth as anywhere. We are working with several local and national groups to understand and tackle the problem strategically and collaboratively. Please visit our marine litter pages to learn more and, hopefully, get involved!
Regional Marine Planning – In 2015, the National Marine Plan in Scotland was published by the Scottish Government. The Plan sets out an overarching strategy for the sustainable use of Scotland’s inshore and offshore waters. The inshore waters (ie out to 12 nautical miles) has been legislated into 11 Scottish marine regions (SMR) including the Moray Firth SMR. We are working with Marine Scotland, statutory authorities, key stakeholders, and the appropriate industrial sector representatives to develop marine planning specific for our region – one of the busiest in Scotland.
SAC Management Group – the Partnership provides secretariat support to the Moray Firth Special Area of Conservation Management Group, which comprises all statutory bodies with responsibilities within the MF SAC.
The management scheme (2016) for the MFSACMG is attached below, and is currently in the process of being updated.
See NatureScot's Conservation and Management Advice-
Sector partners
We take every opportunity to work closely with all other local coastal partnerships (LCPs) in Scotland to develop innovative solutions to project and funding challenges that we share.
Solway Firth Partnership / Forth Estuary Forum / East Grampian Partnership / Tay Estuary Forum / Clyde Marine Planning Partnership
(formerly Clyde Forum).
All LCPs are members of the Scottish Coastal Forum, which is the umbrella body for the sector.
Specifically, MFCP is involved with other Coastal Partnerships on Scotland's East coast in identifying the "State of the Coast", as a necessary step to working towards marine planning principles.