The former leader of Highland Council is angry that Scotland is not getting a devolved Coastguard agency.
Dr Michael Foxley said he believed this should have been included in the powers being handed over to Scotland as part of the new devolution deal.
The Liberal Democrat, who declared his support for a Yes vote before the referendum, explained that he had made a submission to the Smith Commission making a case for the Maritime Coastguard Agency (MCA) be devolved to establish a Scottish Coastguard Agency.
He pointed out that this body would then work closely with the fire and rescue service as a rescue service for coastal waters.
The paper setting out the new powers for Holyrood states that the Scottish Parliament will only have a formal consultative role, that a Scottish member will be appointed to the MCA advisory board and that the agency could be called in front of Scottish parliamentary committees.
But Dr Foxley described this advisory role as “grossly inadequate”.
He said: “I was actively involved in the long campaign to establish the two emergency tugs to protect the Minches and the Northern Isles from a maritime disaster.
“These were in place for over a decade, on active patrol, and they minimised the risks from several serious incidents, one of the most notable being extinguishing the fire on a vessel at Glensanda and saving Lochaber, Mull, Oban and Lorne from at least £100million in damages.
“The UK government, against all the advice from the Highland and islands, has reduced this cover to one tug berthed in Orkney or Shetland.”
He added that Scotland needed a Scottish Coastguard Agency to adequately protect its waters for fishing, aquaculture, tourism and the marine environment.
Independent Councillor Angus Campbell, leader of Western Isles Council: “There’s no doubt that we need more control over how these agencies operate in our borders and more direct Scottish input into that would be very welcome.
“The prime example of this is the lack of understanding of why we need active tug coverage on the west coast of Scotland through the Minches.”