The £800,000 Sustainable Marine Environment Initiative has Shetland, the Firth of Clyde and the Berwickshire coast as the locations for testing innovative approaches to marine and coastal management over a three year period.

Environment and Rural Development minister Ross Finnie said: "Our vision is of a clean, healthy, safe, productive and biologically rich marine and coastal environment which is managed to meet the long term needs of nature and people. A new marine action group, to be chaired by the minister, will be established to provide advice on delivering the objectives of the Marine and Coastal Strategy, including proposals to establish Scotland's first Marine and Coastal National Park.