Crofters would be hit hard by HPMAs claims SCF chairman

Donald MacKinnon, chairman of the Scottish Crofting Federation.

There has been a “groundswell of anger” from crofters over the Scottish government’s highly protected marine areas (HPMAs) proposals, said Donald MacKinnon. 

The chairman of the Scottish Crofting Federation (SCF) said the proposals fail to see the effects HPMAs would have on rural communities. 

Mr MacKinnon said many crofters work part-time and it would prove difficult to retain them as they rely on “income derived in many cases from complementary marine-based employment”.

He said: “There has clearly been a groundswell of anger across the crofting counties from Kintyre to Shetland and every coastal and island community in between, about these proposals.”

The SCF chairman said people were not against protecting the marine of land environment and he recognises there is a need for sustainable management, adding: “We’ve been doing it for generations”.

HPMAs would have an affect on population retention, language and cultural heritage, local food production and the environment, Mr MacKinnon said.