The Scottish Government has designated thirty new Marine Protected Areas for Scotland – including a site estimated to be the largest Marine Protected Area in the EU.

The MPAs include 13 new offshore Nature Conservation Marine Protected Areas in Scotland's waters beyond 12nm based on scientific advice provided by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC).

The sites will protect a range of habitats and species including flameshell beds, feather stars, the common skate and ocean quahog, a large mollusc which can live for centuries. They will also protect sandeels - a small fish that many seabirds and marine mammals depend on for food - and black guillemot, a species of seabird found in Scotland’s seas that has striking black and white plumage and bright red feet. One of the sites – the North East Faroe Shetland Channel - is estimated to be the largest Marine Protected Area in the EU.

Scotland’s seas are the fourth largest in the EU and support many habitats and species including cold water coral reefs, 22 individual species of whales and dolphins and almost half of the European Union's breeding seabirds. The Marine Protected Area (MPA) network in Scotland’s seas is designed to conserve a selection of marine species and habitats and offer long-term support for the services our seas provide to society.

The 30 new sites are in addition to the existing protected areas and will contribute to a network to conserve rare or representative species and habitats, with approximately 20 per cent of Scotland’s seas now in protected areas.

Ministers have also announced they are considering 14 new areas to protect sea birds and a further 4 locations to protect basking shark and species of whale and dolphin. The areas have been identified by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and the  JNCC through a programme of research and survey. Ministers will consider this advice in detail and hold another consultation in due course.

Scottish Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead said:

“Scotland’s seas are fundamental to our way of life. Environmentally, they are hugely significant in European and global terms. They are a vast and vital natural resource which also provide energy, food and recreation. These MPAs will help protect and enhance our marine environment so that it remains a prized asset for future generations.”

JNCC’s Marine Director John Goold said:

“JNCC welcomes the introduction of these new MPAs and the important contribution they will make to the emerging UK, European and Global networks. We thank our project partners, and all those who contributed, for their hard work over the past four years to get to this point. A comprehensive program of survey work has been undertaken to support the identification of MPAs, which has involved working collaboratively with a number of project partners, such as Marine Scotland Science.

“At the same time, we welcome the announcement that Scottish Government are considering proposals for possible new marine SPAs, which would further extend the contribution the UK makes to marine conservation.”

The 30 MPAs were identified through a project led by Marine Scotland with support from Scottish Natural Heritage, the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, Marine Scotland Science, SEPA and Historic Scotland.

Click here to access detailed information on Scottish Marine Protected Areas