For half a century, the seas have been transforming from a mare nullius, to an area of
enclosed and private rights. Despite the growing body of literature addressing these
transitions, there has been a lack of engagement with property rights and enclosure in
Scotland’s seas. Using a conceptual lens of historical institutionalism, the research explores
the drivers, consequences, and perceptions of enclosure in two case studies in Scotland; spatial
enclosure via marine spatial planning, and resource access enclosure in fisheries. Defining
enclosure as the process of concentrating rights and power, the research foregrounds the issues
of power imbalances, distributional conflicts, and a lack of knowledge and transparency. Q-methodology is applied to detail the range of views on enclosure in the participating
stakeholders.
The findings of the thesis suggest that the introduction of both the MSP regime, and the
market-led fisheries management system, are not efficiently allocating resources in a rational
manner. Rather, institutional change has been steadily influenced by political thinking and
powerful actors, so that rights and resources are being concentrated to fewer hands. The
research also suggests that a diverse array of understandings of ownership are present in
Scotland’s seas that are not currently foregrounded in policy. Excluding these forms of
ownership will lead to further tensions between users. As such, understanding the marine
environment as a series of social institutions is necessary for designing a governance regime
that is both equitable and sustainable. By understanding the sources of rights, and how they
are performed in concrete relations between individuals, regulators can better address
potential conflicts, and avoid destructive enclosure. The research therefore recommends
further engagement with stakeholders, and acknowledgement of rights through different
participatory or financial channels.James Watt Scholarshi
