Aquaculture development in Scotland: regulation as a moving equilibrium

The expanding interest in marine planning and management raises important questions for the spectrum of marine, coastal and terrestrial environments. The role of state regulation in mediating conflicts over the use and development of the marine resource has spatial implications across these domains. Governance of the marine represents a very particular challenge since it involves a highly complex mix of common, legal and customary property rights and sets of defined territorial jurisdictions. The Planning etc. (Scotland) Act 2006 and subsequent policy iterations have changed institutional and organizational relations. The legislation included provisions for the extension of statutory land use planning controls to include coastal and transitional waters (i.e. to the 12-nautical mile limit), meaning that finfish and shellfish farming are subject to the terrestrial planning regime. This represents a turn from self-regulation to arrangements for state planning controls. This paper traces this evolution in terms of a moving equilibrium as both state and market have sought to minimize the transaction costs involved.