What this covers
Why you need it
The Scottish Parliament created it. The power to require it comes from Marine (Scotland) Act 2010.
What the Act carries
What our graph holds for Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 as a whole — the Act behind this licence, not the licence conditions themselves.
- Duties on businesses
- 20
- Penalties
- 12
- Exemptions
- 7
Duties on businesses under the Act
- Get a marine licence before carrying on licensable marine activities s.20
- Give pre-application notice before submitting a marine licence application s.23
- Prepare pre-application consultation report for marine licence s.24
- Carry out unlicensed marine activity or breach licence condition s.39
- Give false information for a marine licence s.42
- Fail to comply with a compliance or remediation notice s.45
… and 14 more business duties in the same Act.
What happens if you get it wrong
- Commit any listed offence under Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 5 years imprisonment
- Breach a marine conservation order Unlimited fine
- Carry out unlicensed marine activity or breach licence condition Unlimited fine
- Damage or disturb marine historic assets in a Historic MPA Unlimited fine
- Damage protected features of a Nature Conservation MPA Unlimited fine
… and 7 more penalties in the same Act.
Exemptions that may take you outside it
- Authorised acts and unavoidable sea fishing defences for MPA offences — The act was authorised by a public authority or had a section 92 permit/authorisation, or was necessary for national security, …
- Due diligence defence for marine licensing offences — Charged with an offence under this Part and able to prove you took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due …
- Emergency actions exempt from marine offence penalties — Act carried out to save life or secure the safety of a vessel, aircraft, or marine installation, and Scottish Ministers …
- Emergency safety actions exempt from marine licence penalties — Activity was carried out to save life or secure the safety of a vessel, aircraft or marine structure; the Scottish …
- Oil and gas, defence and shipping pollution exempt from marine licensing — The activity relates to oil and gas outside controlled waters, is a defence-related reserved matter, or falls within pollution matters …
… and 2 more exemptions in the same Act.
Read our full dossier on Marine (Scotland) Act 2010
Who issues it
Your local council issues this. Councils apply the same statute but set their own fees, conditions and timescales.
Where to apply
Duty, penalty and exemption labels are Guvnor’s analysis of the enabling instrument, not the instrument itself. Fees, forms and conditions are set by the issuing authority — always check the linked source.