Publication - Factsheet

Fisheries management measures within Scottish Offshore Marine Protected Areas (MPAs): Draft fisheries assessments methodology report

Published: 19 August 2024
From: Acting Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy, +1 more … Director of Marine
Directorate: Marine Directorate
Topic: Environment and climate change, Marine and fisheries
ISBN: 9781836016267

This report outlines the approach taken to conduct the fisheries assessments. This includes what evidence was used and how that was collected and also provides definitions and methods used.

Supporting documents

Annex A

Table A 1. Site details for each site subject to draft Fisheries Assessments within the Scottish offshore region including habitat and species protected features (geomorphological and large-scale features have not been assessed within draft Fisheries Assessments and are therefore not listed within this table), site feature condition and conservation objectives.
Site	Site Information Centre Details	Protected feature	Site condition	Conservation objective
Anton Dohrn Seamount SAC	Area (km²): 1,429 Site code: UK0030387 Site centre location (decimal degrees): Longitude -11.0232, Latitude 57.2146 Date classified: 2017-09 Anton Dohrn Seamount MPA \| JNCC - Adviser to Government on Nature Conservation	Annex 1 Reefs (as listed under the EU Habitats Directive as a priority for conservation)	Unfavourable	Restore to favourable condition
Barra Fan and Hebrides Terrace Seamount NCMPA	Area (km²): 4,373 Site centre location: 56° 34.884' N 9° 41.793' W Date classified: 2014-08 Barra Fan and Hebrides Terrace Seamount \| JNCC - Adviser to Government on Nature Conservation	Burrowed Mud (Seapen and burrowing megafauna communities) Offshore deep-sea muds Offshore subtidal sands and gravels Seamount communities	Unfavourable	Recover to favourable condition
Braemar Pockmarks SAC	Area (km²): 11.43 Site centre location (decimal degrees): Longitude 1.4747, Latitude 58.9864 Date classified: 2008-08 Braemar Pockmarks MPA \| JNCC - Adviser to Government on Nature Conservation	Annex I habitat Structures made by leaking gases	Unfavourable- noting it is not considered feasible to recover some of the features attributes through management measures	Restore to favourable condition
Central Fladen NCMPA	Area (km²): 925 Site centre location: 59° 02.547' N 0° 14.411' W Date classified: 2008 - 08 Central Fladen MPA \| JNCC - Adviser to Government on Nature Conservation	Burrowed Mud (Seapen and burrowing megafauna communities)	Unfavourable	Recover to favourable condition
Darwin Mounds SAC	Area (km²): 1,377 Site centre location (decimal degrees): Longitude -7.2167, Latitude 59.7583 Date classified: 2008-08 Darwin Mounds MPA \| JNCC - Adviser to Government on Nature Conservation	Annex 1 Reefs (as listed under the EU Habitats Directive as a priority for conservation)	Unfavourable	Restore to favourable condition
*East of Gannet and Montrose Fields NCMPA	Area (km²): 1,839 Site centre location: 57° 12.651' N 1° 17.345' E Date classified: 2014-08 East of Gannet and Montrose Fields MPA \| JNCC - Adviser to Government on Nature Conservation	Ocean Quahog (Arctica islandica) aggregations Offshore deep-sea muds	Unfavourable	Recover to favourable condition
East Rockall Bank SAC	Area (km²): 3,695 Site centre location (decimal degrees): Longitude -12.91, Latitude 57.6544 Date classified: 2012-10 East Rockall Bank MPA \| JNCC - Adviser to Government on Nature Conservation	Annex 1 Reefs (as listed under the EU Habitats Directive as a priority for conservation)	Unfavourable	Restore to favourable condition
Faroe-Shetland Sponge Belt NCMPA	Area (km²): 5,278 Site centre location: 60° 51.354' N 3° 04.677' W Date classified: 2014-04 Faroe-Shetland Sponge Belt MPA \| JNCC - Adviser to Government on Nature Conservation	Deep-sea sponge aggregations Ocean Quahog (Arctica islandica) aggregations Offshore subtidal sands and gravels	Unfavourable	Recover to favourable condition
*Firth of Forth Banks Complex NCMPA	Area (km²): 2,130 Site centre location: 56° 27.294' N 1° 37.301' W Date classified: 2014-04 Firth of Forth Banks Complex MPA \| JNCC - Adviser to Government on Nature Conservation	Ocean Quahog (Arctica islandica) aggregations Offshore subtidal sands and gravels	Unfavourable	Recover to favourable condition
Geikie Slide and Hebridean Slope NCMPA	Area (km²): 2,215 Site centre location: 58° 22.229' N 9° 10.272' W Date classified: 2014-04 Geikie Slide and Hebridean Slope MPA \| JNCC - Adviser to Government on Nature Conservation	Burrowed Mud (Seapen and burrowing megafauna communities) Offshore deep-sea muds Offshore subtidal sands and gravels	Unfavourable	Recover to favourable condition
Hatton Bank SAC	Area (km²): 15,694 Site centre location (decimal degrees): Longitude 16.9687, Latitude 59.2578 Date classified: 2012-09 Hatton Bank MPA \| JNCC - Adviser to Government on Nature Conservation	Annex 1 Reefs (as listed under the EU Habitats Directive as a priority for conservation)	Unfavourable	Restore to favourable condition
Hatton-Rockall Basin NCMPA	Area (km²): 1,256 Site centre location: 58° 03.548' N 16° 24.096' W Date classified: 2014-07 Hatton-Rockall Basin MPA \| JNCC - Adviser to Government on Nature Conservation	Deep-sea sponge aggregations Offshore deep-sea muds	Uncertain*	Recover to favourable condition
*North-West Orkney NCMPA	Area (km²): 4,365 Site centre location: 59° 30.907' N 3° 08.934' W Date classified: 2014-08 North-West Orkney MPA \| JNCC - Adviser to Government on Nature Conservation	Sandeels	Favourable	Conserve in favourable condition
North West Rockall Bank SAC	Area (km²): 4,365 Site centre location (decimal degrees): Longitude -14.1678, Latitude 57.7097 Date classified: 2010-08 North West Rockall Bank MPA \| JNCC - Adviser to Government on Nature Conservation	Annex 1 Reefs (as listed under the EU Habitats Directive as a priority for conservation)	Unfavourable	Restore to favourable condition
North-East Faroe-Shetland Channel NCMPA	Area (km²): 23,682 Site centre location: 62° 35.915' N 0° 51.749' W Date classified: 2014-08 North-East Faroe-Shetland Channel MPA \| JNCC - Adviser to Government on Nature Conservation	Deep-sea sponge aggregations Offshore deep-sea muds Offshore subtidal sands and gravels	Deep-Sea mud unfavourable. Deep-sea sponge aggregations and Offshore sands and gravels favourable	Recover Deep-sea muds to favourable condition Conserve Deep-sea sponge aggregations and Offshore sands and gravels in favourable condition
Norwegian Boundary Sediment Plain NCMPA	Area (km²): 164 Site centre location: 58° 04.548' N 1° 43.688' E Date classified: 2014-07 Norwegian Boundary Sediment Plain MPA \| JNCC - Adviser to Government on Nature Conservation	Ocean Quahog (Arctica islandica) aggregations	Unfavourable	Recover to favourable condition
*Pobie Bank Reef SAC	Area (km²): 965 Site centre location (decimal degrees): Longitude -0.2931, Latitude 60.5297 Date classified: 2012-10 Pobie Bank Reef MPA \| JNCC - Adviser to Government on Nature Conservation	Annex 1 Reefs (as listed under the EU Habitats Directive as a priority for conservation)	Uncertain**	Maintain or Restore in/to favourable condition
Scanner Pockmark SAC	Area (km²): 674 Site centre location (decimal degrees): Longitude 0.9694, Latitude 58.2852 Date classified: 2008-08 Scanner Pockmark MPA \| JNCC - Adviser to Government on Nature Conservation	Annex I habitat Structures made by leaking gases	Unfavourable – noting it is not considered feasible to recover some of the feature's attributes through management intervention	Maintain or restore in/to favourable condition
*Solan Bank Reef SAC	Area (km²): 856 Site centre location (decimal degrees): Longitude -5.08, Latitude 59.0008 Date classified: 2012-10 Solan Bank Reef MPA \| JNCC - Adviser to Government on Nature Conservation	Annex 1 Reefs (as listed under the EU Habitats Directive as a priority for conservation)	Uncertain**	Maintain or Restore in/to favourable condition
Stanton Banks SAC	Area (km²): 817 Site centre location (decimal degrees): Longitude -7.9078, Latitude 56.2347 Date classified: 2008-08 Stanton Banks MPA \| JNCC - Adviser to Government on Nature Conservation	Annex 1 Reefs (as listed under the EU Habitats Directive as a priority for conservation)	Unfavourable	Restore to favourable condition
Turbot Bank NCMPA	Area (km²): 251 Site centre location: 57° 23.393' N 0° 52.953' W Date classified: 2014-07 Turbot Bank MPA \| JNCC - Adviser to Government on Nature Conservation	Sandeels	Favourable	Conserve in favourable condition
West of Scotland NCMPA	Area (km²): 107,718 Site centre location: 58° 33.885' N 011° 13.688' W Date classified: 2020-10 West of Scotland MPA \| JNCC - Adviser to Government on Nature Conservation	Blue Ling (Molva dypeterygia) Burrowed Mud (Seapen and burrowing megafauna communities) Cold-water coral reefs (including Lophelia pertusa reefs) Coral gardens Deep-sea sponge aggregations Leafscale gulper shark (Centrophorus squamosus) Gulper shark (Centrophorus granulosus) Offshore deep-sea muds Offshore subtidal sands and gravels Orange roughy (Hoplostethus atlanticus) Portuguese dogfish (Centroscymnus coelolepis) Roundnose grenadier (Coryphaenoides rupestris) Seamount communities	Benthic features Uncertain** Mobile species unfavourable (except Blue Ling favourable)	Recover to favourable condition Recover mobile species to favourable condition Conserve Blue Ling in favourable condition
West Shetland Shelf NCMPA	Area (km²): 4,083 Site centre location: 59° 32.485' N 4° 55.089' W Date classified: 2014-08 West Shetland Shelf MPA \| JNCC - Adviser to Government on Nature Conservation	Offshore subtidal sands and gravels	Favourable	Conserve in favourable condition
Wyvile-Thomson Ridge SAC	Area (km²): 1,740 Site centre location (decimal degrees): Longitude 59.9736, Latitude -6.715 Date classified: 2010-08 Wyville Thomson Ridge MPA \| JNCC - Adviser to Government on Nature Conservation	Annex 1 Reefs (as listed under the EU Habitats Directive as a priority for conservation)	Unfavourable	Restore to favourable condition

*Sites that overlap with the Scottish inshore region but are included in the draft Fisheries Assessments for Scottish offshore region sites

** There is limited information available on the human activities taking place within the protected area. In the absence of evidence, JNCC cannot provide a view on the condition of the protected features of the site. When more evidence becomes available, JNCC's view on feature condition will be reviewed.

Contact

Email: marine_biodiversity@gov.scot

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Information

Annex A

Contact

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