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 Sites 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).

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

In addition to the statutory MPAs, 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 Nature Conservation MPA 31 Total MPAs for nature conservation purposes 217 Demonstration and Research Demonstration and Research MPA 1 Historic Historic MPA 8 Other Area Based Measures 5 Total sites in Scottish MPA network 231

Management

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.

Activities undertaken in an MPA can be managed through voluntary measures, or by implementation of Marine Conservation Orders or Inshore Fishing Orders. Management measures (such as restrictions on the type of fishing gear that can be used) may be in place for all or part of an MPA, and may only apply at certain times of year. Environmental groups have criticised the government for failing to enforce fishing rules around MPAs.

List of MPAs

These tables list those MPAs not covered by other designations (i.e. excluding SACs, SPAs, and SSSIs etc.) as of August 2019.

Historic MPAs

Name Size (ha) Date Type Advisory body HMS Campania 7.1 1 November 2013 Historic HES HMS Dartmouth 0.8 1 November 2013 Historic HES Drumbeg 7.1 18 March 2013 Historic HES Duart Point 1.8 1 November 2013 Historic HES Iona I 2.5 26 October 2016 Historic HES Kinlochbervie 28.3 1 November 2013 Historic HES Mingary 19.6 1 November 2013 Historic HES Out Skerries 22.8 1 November 2013 Historic HES

Nature Conservation MPAs

Name Size (ha) Date Type Advisory body Central Fladen 92500 7 August 2014 Nature Conservation JNCC Clyde Sea Sill 71200 7 August 2014 Nature Conservation SNH East Caithness Cliffs 11400 7 August 2014 Nature Conservation SNH East of Gannet and Montrose Fields 183900 7 August 2014 Nature Conservation JNCC Faroe-Shetland Sponge Belt 527800 7 August 2014 Nature Conservation JNCC Fetlar to Haroldswick 21600 18 November 2016 Nature Conservation SNH Firth of Forth Banks Complex 213000 7 August 2014 Nature Conservation JNCC Geikie Slide and Hebridean Slope 221500 7 August 2014 Nature Conservation JNCC Hatton-Rockall Basin 125600 7 August 2014 Nature Conservation JNCC Loch Carron 2285 19 May 2019 Nature Conservation SNH Loch Creran 1200 7 August 2014 Nature Conservation SNH Loch Sunart 4900 7 August 2014 Nature Conservation SNH Loch Sunart to the Sound of Jura 74100 7 August 2014 Nature Conservation SNH Loch Sween 4100 7 August 2014 Nature Conservation SNH Lochs Duich, Long and Alsh 3700 7 August 2014 Nature Conservation SNH Monach Isles 6200 7 August 2014 Nature Conservation SNH Mousa to Boddam 1300 7 August 2014 Nature Conservation SNH North-east Faroe-Shetland Channel 2368200 7 August 2014 Nature Conservation JNCC North-west Orkney 436500 7 August 2014 Nature Conservation JNCC Norwegian Boundary Sediment Plain 16400 7 August 2014 Nature Conservation JNCC Noss Head 800 7 August 2014 Nature Conservation SNH Papa Westray 3300 7 August 2014 Nature Conservation SNH Rosemary Bank Seamount 692700 7 August 2014 Nature Conservation JNCC Small Isles 80300 18 November 2016 Nature Conservation SNH South Arran 28000 7 August 2014 Nature Conservation SNH The Barra Fan and Hebrides Terrace Seamount 437300 7 August 2014 Nature Conservation JNCC Turbot Bank 25100 7 August 2014 Nature Conservation JNCC Upper Loch Fyne and Loch Goil 8800 7 August 2014 Nature Conservation SNH West Shetland Shelf 408300 7 August 2014 Nature Conservation JNCC Wester Ross 59900 7 August 2014 Nature Conservation SNH Wyre and Rousay Sounds 1600 7 August 2014 Nature Conservation SNH

Demonstration and Research MPA

There is one Demonstration and Research MPA, in the waters surrounding Fair Isle. The MPA was designated on 9 November 2016. The aims of this MPA designation are defined as being:

To demonstrate and research the use of an ecosystem approach, which includes the following -

a) the environmental monitoring of seabirds and of other mobile marine species;
b) the environmental monitoring of the factors which influence the populations of seabirds and of other mobile species;
c) the development and implementation of a local sustainable shellfish fishery;
d) the development of a research programme into local fisheries which includes research on species composition, size, distribution and temporal and spatial changes in fish stocks;

e) based upon the research undertaken under sub-paragraph (d), the development of a sustainable-use management programme for local fisheries.

— Scottish Government

Other area based measures

Name Size (km2) East Coast of Scotland (sand eels) 21,320 West of Scotland (blue ling) 6,009 Rosemary Bank (blue ling) 8,955 West Rockall Mound 5,124 North West Rockall 346

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