A Marine Bill, which sets out to reconcile the apparently irreconcilable needs of the fishing and offshore industries with those of the conservation lobby could be introduced at Holyrood as early as next year.

Unveiling proposals in a consultation document, Richard Lochhead, the Scottish Environment Secretary, said that “striking the right balance” between long-term economic viability and the “enhanced protection of our special marine environment”, would be at the heart of the Bill.

Mr Lochhead emphasised the rich biodiversity of the country's coastline - home to more than 40,000 species - but also itemised the sea's economic benefits. Coastal waters help to generate £2.2 billion for the economy and fish farming alone represents 60 per cent of all food exports from Scotland, worth £422 million.

Under proposed legislation a new body called Marine Scotland would be established to oversee a statutory marine management regime. Resembling a local authority planning system, this would license industries such as off-shore energy or fish farming in certain areas, but protect vulnerable wildlife populations and sites of outstanding ecological importance.

Conservationists believe that economic pressures are already partly responsible for the decline in the number of Scotland's world renowned seabird populations. Last week it was reported that numbers of kittiwakes, puffins, razorbills and guillemots were all falling. Overfishing of sand eels, their staple food, to feed pigs and poultry, is partly blamed.

The announcement was broadly welcomed by conservation groups, but there was criticism of the Holyrood and Westminster Governments, which have both embarked on Marine Bills, under pressure from the European Union. “What we have is unjoined-up thinking. It's not helpful. A partnership that worked along ecological boundaries rather than along jurisdictions would be preferable,” said one environmental campaigner.

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