Labour's Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Environment, Sarah Boyack, has welcomed the UK government's decision to devolve more power to designate marine protected zones to safeguard sea life.

This new framework for marine planning will allow for a more effective coordination of nature conservation and sea fisheries interests. It will also give a coherent basis for the new marine bills in Scotland and the rest of the UK.

Sarah Boyack said:

"Scottish Labour has long argued that a more integrated approach to marine management has to be the way forward. With UK and Scottish Marine Bills at an advanced stage of development we need a partnership approach between Scotland and the rest of the UK.

"This is a strengthening of devolution. Labour believes that we need a regionalised approach to fisheries management and to marine spatial planning. But we also want to ensure that there is a genuine partnership across our seas between the different governments and our fishing and environmental communities.

"Unfortunately in today's debate the SNP revealed their true colours by proposing a motion which ignores Scotland's positive role in fisheries negotiations as part of Team UK.

"Once again the SNP pretend we can or should leave the Common Fisheries Policy - the challenge is to reform it so that we get long term sustainability of our stocks, the health of our marine environment and the long term viability of our fishing industry."