The Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency (SFPA) was anExecutive Agency of the Scottish Government. The SFPA is responsible for both deterring illegal fishing in Scottish waters, as well as monitoring the compliance of the fisheries industry in Scotland with the relevant Scottish and European Union laws on fisheries. The Agency has 18 Fishery Offices, a fleet of 3 Fishery Protection Vessels, and 2 aircraft for the purposes of monitoring and enforcement in the waters around Scotland. The letters "SF" appearing in the Agency's ensign relate to the words "Sea Fisheries" as the agency is part of the UK Sea Fisheries Inspectorate (SFI).
On 1 April 2009, the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency and Fisheries Research Services were merged with the Scottish Government Marine Directorate to form Marine Scotland, part of the core Scottish Government. The SFPA is now known as Marine Scotland Compliance and the Fisheries Research Services are known as Marine Scotland Science.
