An island council leader has called for powers over the Crown Estate to be devolved to local authorities.
Much of the foreshore and the seabed around the Western Isles is owned by the commercial property arm of the royal family.
The Scottish Government is currently consulting on how the Crown Estate should be managed when power over it is devolved.
Councillor Angus Campbell, leader of Western Isles Council, said: “We would repeat our calls for the Scottish Government to devolve Crown Estate powers to local authorities, as set out in the recommendations of the Smith Commission.
“This principle was acknowledged in ‘Empowering Scotland’s Islands Communities’ back in June 2014 when Scottish Government committed to pass on 100% of net revenues in relation to Crown Estate assets in our areas.
“For us, however, the management of our local marine assets is as important as revenues, as our goal is to be in a position to work with our communities to utilise our natural resources to meet our joint priorities, develop our economy and stem the flow of young people from our areas.”
He added: “The seabed around our islands is as much ours as the land on which we live. We have already seen examples of how community owned land across our islands has sustained and in some cases saved our fragile areas – this shows what can be done when control of assets is available to them.”