Marine Protected Areas in Scotland

A map showing the location of Marine Protected Areas in Scottish waters.

In Scotland, Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are areas of sea defined so as to protect to habitats, wildlife, geology, undersea landforms, historic shipwrecks, and to demonstrate sustainable management of the sea. As of December 2018, approximately 22 % of Scotland's seas were covered by the Scottish MPA network.

Designation

The Loch Carron MPA is the site of the world's largest flame shell bed.

As of December Scotland's MPA network comprises 231 sites protected by a variety of different conservation designations, many of which are the same as those used on land, such as Special Protection Areas (SPA) and Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The legal framework differs depending on the designation: for example SSSIs are designated under the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004. Where not designated under other conservation legislation MPAs are designated under one of two acts of parliament, depending on their location:

• The Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 is an act of the Scottish Parliament which gives the Scottish Government the power to designate MPAs in Scottish Territorial Waters (waters 12 up to nautical miles of the coastline).
• The Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 is an act of the UK Parliament which gives the Scottish Government the power to designate MPAs in Scottish Offshore Waters (waters lying further from the coast than 12 nm, and defined as Scottish by the Scottish Adjacent Waters Boundaries Order 1999).

The lead body for management of the MPAs is Marine Scotland. For nature conservation sites within territorial waters Scottish Natural Heritage is responsible for developing the network and providing scientific advice to Scottish Government on the selection of sites, and providing advice to Marine Scotland on management once sites are designated. The Joint Nature Conservation Committee fulfils this role for sites in offshore waters, and also has a coordinating role for nature conservation in all the UK's offshore waters. Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for historic MPAs.

Sites are designated as MPAs under these acts for one of three purposes:

• Nature Conservation MPAs are defined to protect biodiversity
• Historical MPAs are used to protect sites such as marine wrecks and artefacts
• One Demonstration and Research MPA has been defined to test novel approaches to marine management

Additionally a further five sites are recognised as forming part of the Scottish MPA network, being categorised as "other area based measures": such areas, although not specifically created for nature conservation purposes, are considered to contribute to the protection of marine biodiversity. The makeup of the current network is detailed in the table below:

Purpose Designation Number Nature Conservation Special Area of Conservation (SAC) 58 Nature Conservation Special Protection Area (SPA) 47 Nature Conservation Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) 65 Nature Conservation Ramsar 16 Nature Conservation NCMPA 31 Total MPAs for nature conservation purposes 217 Demonstration and Research MPA D&RMPA 1 Historic Historic MPAs 8 Other Area Based Measures 5 Total sites in Scottish MPA network 231

List of MPAs

This table lists those MPAs not covered by other designations (i.e. excluding SACs, SPAs, and SSSIs etc.) as of August 2019.

Name Date Type Advisory body HMS Campania 1 November 2013 Historic HES Central Fladen 7 August 2014 Nature Conservation JNCC Clyde Sea Sill 7 August 2014 Nature Conservation SNH HMS Dartmouth 1 November 2013 Historic HES Drumbeg 18 March 2013 Historic HES Duart Point 1 November 2013 Historic HES East Caithness Cliffs 7 August 2014 Nature Conservation SNH East of Gannet and Montrose Fields 7 August 2014 Nature Conservation JNCC Fair Isle 9 November 2016 Demonstration and Research SNH Faroe-Shetland Sponge Belt 7 August 2014 Nature Conservation JNCC Fetlar to Haroldswick 18 November 2016 Nature Conservation SNH Firth of Forth Banks Complex 7 August 2014 Nature Conservation JNCC Geikie Slide and Hebridean Slope 7 August 2014 Nature Conservation JNCC Hatton-Rockall Basin 7 August 2014 Nature Conservation JNCC Iona I 26 October 2016 Historic HES Kinlochbervie 1 November 2013 Historic HES Loch Carron 19 May 2019 Nature Conservation SNH Loch Creran 7 August 2014 Nature Conservation SNH Loch Sunart 7 August 2014 Nature Conservation SNH Loch Sunart to the Sound of Jura 7 August 2014 Nature Conservation SNH Loch Sween 7 August 2014 Nature Conservation SNH Lochs Duich, Long and Alsh 7 August 2014 Nature Conservation SNH Mingary 1 November 2013 Historic HES Monach Isles 7 August 2014 Nature Conservation SNH Mousa to Boddam 7 August 2014 Nature Conservation SNH North-east Faroe-Shetland Channel 7 August 2014 Nature Conservation JNCC North-west Orkney 7 August 2014 Nature Conservation JNCC Norwegian Boundary Sediment Plain 7 August 2014 Nature Conservation JNCC Noss Head 7 August 2014 Nature Conservation SNH Out Skerries 1 November 2013 Historic HES Papa Westray 7 August 2014 Nature Conservation SNH Rosemary Bank Seamount 7 August 2014 Nature Conservation JNCC Small Isles 18 November 2016 Nature Conservation SNH South Arran 7 August 2014 Nature Conservation SNH The Barra Fan and Hebrides Terrace Seamount 7 August 2014 Nature Conservation JNCC Turbot Bank 7 August 2014 Nature Conservation JNCC Upper Loch Fyne and Loch Goil 7 August 2014 Nature Conservation SNH West Shetland Shelf 7 August 2014 Nature Conservation JNCC Wester Ross 7 August 2014 Nature Conservation SNH Wyre and Rousay Sounds 7 August 2014 Nature Conservation SNH

Proposed NCMPAs

During 2019 SNH commenced a consultation exercise to consider whether four new areas should be designated as Nature Conservation MPAs. The four sites being considered are:

• North-east Lewis
• Shiant East Bank
• Sea of the Hebrides
• Southern Trench

The consultation is due to close on 30 August 2019.

References

Bibliography

• "Scottish MPA network - Parliamentary Report" (PDF). Scottish Government. December 2018. Retrieved 15 August 2019.

External links

• Scotland’s Marine Protected Area network - Scottish Natural Heritage
• Marine Heritage - Historic Environment Scotland