THE Scottish government is trying to “sidestep its legal obligations” with a new marine plan that could leave rules protecting the environment “less clear and weaker” than before, campaigners warn.

Environmental charity Open Seas has warned that the draft Planning Position Statement (PPS), outlining the SNP government’s approach to the updating of the national marine plan, could remove “whole sections” of fishery policy and risk “loosening environmental safeguards.”

Drawing on his charity’s successful legal challenge against the Scottish government’s licensing of scallop dredging, director Phil Talylor said: “Delivering their commitments is where they now need to focus, not on moving and weakening the goalposts yet again.