Marine Protected Areas in Scotland
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In Scotland, Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are designated areas of the sea aimed at protecting habitats, wildlife, geology, undersea landforms, historic shipwrecks, and demonstrating sustainable management of marine resources. As of August 2025, approximately 37% of Scotland's seas are covered by the Scottish MPA network, which comprises 243 sites.[a]
Designation
As of August 2025, Scotland's MPA network comprises 243 sites protected under various conservation designations.[a] Many of these designations are the same as those used on land, such as Special Protection Areas (SPAs) and Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs).[4][5]
The legal framework for designating MPAs depends on the designation. For example, SSSIs are designated under the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004.[6] Where sites are 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 that gives the Scottish Government the power to designate MPAs in Scottish Territorial Waters (waters up to 12 nautical miles off the coastline).
- The Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 is an act of the UK Parliament that gives the Scottish Government the power to designate MPAs in Scottish Offshore Waters (waters lying further from the coast than 12 nautical miles, and defined as Scottish by the Scottish Adjacent Waters Boundaries Order 1999).[7][8]
Sites are designated as MPAs under these acts for one of three purposes:[9]
- Nature Conservation MPAs are designated to protect biodiversity.
- Historical MPAs are used to protect sites such as marine wrecks and artefacts.
- Demonstration and Research MPAs are designated to test novel approaches to marine management.
In addition to the statutory MPAs, five sites were recognized as part of the Scottish MPA network, categorized as "other effective area-based conservation measures" (OECMs). Although these areas were not specifically created for nature conservation purposes, restrictions in place for these areas meant that they were considered to contribute to the protection of marine biodiversity. By December 2024 only one area was still considered to be an OECM, as changes in legislation and the extension of other areas had rendered the other OECM no longer relevant. The makeup of the network as of August 2025 is detailed in the table below:[1][2]
| Purpose | Designation | Number |
|---|---|---|
| Nature Conservation | Special Area of Conservation (SAC) | 58 |
| Nature Conservation | Special Protection Area (SPA) | 58 |
| Nature Conservation | Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) | 65 |
| Nature Conservation | Ramsar | 16 |
| Nature Conservation | Nature Conservation MPA | 36 |
| Total MPAs for nature conservation purposes | 233 | |
| Demonstration and Research | Demonstration and Research MPA | 1 |
| Historic | Historic MPA | 8 |
| Other area-based measures | 1 | |
| Total sites in Scottish MPA network | 243 | |
Management
The lead body for the management of MPAs in Scotland is Marine Scotland. For nature conservation sites within territorial waters, NatureScot is responsible for developing the network, providing scientific advice to the Scottish Government on site selection, and advising Marine Scotland on management once sites are designated. The Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) fulfills this role for sites in offshore waters and also has a coordinating role for nature conservation across all the UK's offshore waters.[6] Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for managing historic MPAs.[10]
Activities undertaken in an MPA can be managed through voluntary measures or by implementing 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 the year.[9] Environmental groups have criticized the government for failing to enforce fishing rules around MPAs.[11]
List of MPAs
These tables list those MPAs not covered by other designations (i.e. excluding SACs, SPAs, and SSSIs etc.) as of August 2025.[12][13]
Historic MPAs
|
Nature Conservation MPAs
| Name | Area (km2) |
Date | Advisory body |
|---|---|---|---|
| Central Fladen | 925 | 7 August 2014[34] | JNCC |
| Clyde Sea Sill | 712 | 7 August 2014[35] | NatureScot |
| East Caithness Cliffs | 114 | 7 August 2014[36] | NatureScot |
| East of Gannet and Montrose Fields | 1,839 | 7 August 2014[37] | JNCC |
| Faroe–Shetland Sponge Belt | 5,278 | 7 August 2014[38] | JNCC |
| Fetlar to Haroldswick | 216 | 18 November 2016[39] | NatureScot |
| Firth of Forth Banks Complex | 2,130 | 7 August 2014[40] | JNCC |
| Geikie Slide and Hebridean Slope | 2,215 | 7 August 2014[41] | JNCC |
| Hatton-Rockall Basin | 1,256 | 7 August 2014[42] | JNCC |
| Loch Carron | 23 | 19 May 2019[43] | NatureScot |
| Loch Creran | 12 | 7 August 2014[44] | NatureScot |
| Loch Sunart | 49 | 7 August 2014[45] | NatureScot |
| Loch Sunart to the Sound of Jura | 741 | 7 August 2014[46] | NatureScot |
| Loch Sween | 41 | 7 August 2014[47] | NatureScot |
| Lochs Duich, Long and Alsh | 37 | 7 August 2014[48] | NatureScot |
| Monach Isles | 62 | 7 August 2014[49] | NatureScot |
| Mousa to Boddam | 13 | 7 August 2014[50] | NatureScot |
| North-east Faroe–Shetland Channel | 23,682 | 7 August 2014[51] | JNCC |
| North-east Lewis | 90,700 | 3 December 2020[52] | NatureScot |
| North-west Orkney | 4,365 | 7 August 2014[53] | JNCC |
| Norwegian Boundary Sediment Plain | 164 | 7 August 2014[54] | JNCC |
| Noss Head | 8 | 7 August 2014[55] | NatureScot |
| Red Rocks and Longay | 12 | 16 December 2021[56] | NatureScot |
| Papa Westray | 33 | 7 August 2014[57] | NatureScot |
| Sea of the Hebrides | 10,039 | 3 December 2020[58] | NatureScot |
| Shiant East Bank | 25,200 | 3 December 2020[59] | NatureScot |
| Small Isles | 803 | 18 November 2016[60] | NatureScot |
| Southern Trench | 239,800 | 3 December 2020[61] | NatureScot |
| South Arran | 280 | 7 August 2014[62] | NatureScot |
| The Barra Fan and Hebrides Terrace Seamount | 4,373 | 7 August 2014[63] | JNCC |
| Turbot Bank | 251 | 7 August 2014[64] | JNCC |
| Upper Loch Fyne and Loch Goil | 88 | 7 August 2014[65] | NatureScot |
| West of Scotland | 107,773 | 9 October 2020[66] | JNCC |
| West Shetland Shelf | 4,083 | 7 August 2014[67] | JNCC |
| Wester Ross | 599 | 7 August 2014[68] | NatureScot |
| Wyre and Rousay Sounds | 16 | 7 August 2014[69] | NatureScot |
Demonstration and Research MPA
There is one Demonstration and Research Marine Protected Area (MPA) in the waters surrounding Fair Isle. This MPA was designated on 9 November 2016.[70] The aims of this MPA designation are defined as follows:
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[71]
Other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs)
In 2018, 5 areas were considered to form part of the MPA network as a result of area-based conservation measures other than the main statutory designations; these are listed below. By December 2024 only one area was still regarded as falling into this category due to changes in the protection of the other areas.[1]
|