The waters off the Berwickshire coast have long been considered special by marine biologists as they contain a fantastic abundance and diversity of marine life. Add to this clear waters and spectacular underwater scenery and it is not surprising that divers have been coming to the area for decades.

In the early days numbers were low, but word soon spread and by the 1970s there were concerns that increasing human activity might start to have an adverse effect on the wildlife. Initially divers banned themselves from taking a crab or lobster “for the pot” from around St Abbs and the Barefoot Marine Reserve was set up at Eyemouth by a local landowner. Then in 1984 local fishermen, divers and conservationists got together and decided to create St Abbs & Eyemouth Voluntary Marine Reserve (VMR). This was the first reserve of its kind in the UK and, to this day, remains the only one in Scotland.

The VMR aims to balance the needs of the area’s marine life with the needs of recreation & traditional creel fishing. Protection of the marine life relies on educating people who use the area, promoting responsible behaviour and asking them to stick to a voluntary Code of Conduct.

15th August 2010
Become a fan of the Marine Reserve on Facebook!
Become a fan of the Marine Reserve on Facebook and keep up to date with news, wildlife sightings, photos and goings on in Scotland's first Voluntary Marine Reserve.

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2nd August 2010
Splash In 2010 - Competiton rules now online!
Due to venue uncertainty it's taken a bit longer than usual to finalise things this year,however I am please to say that the rules for the Splash In 2010 are now available to download from the link on the News and Events section of this website.

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1st August 2010
Photo of the month - there's a shark in the Marine Reserve!
August's photo of the month comes from Alan Pollock, regular down at St Abbs, who captured this cracking photo of a dog fish relaxing at Black Carr!

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