West of Scotland Marine Protected Area

The West of Scotland Marine Protected Area covers a large area of the North Atlantic to the west of the Outer Hebrides. The Marine Protected Area (MPA) was designated by the Scottish Government in 2020, replacing the Rosemary Bank MPA, which covered a much smaller area.[2] Covering a sea area of over 100,000 square kilometres (39,000 sq mi), it is the largest marine protected area in Europe.[3]

West of Scotland MPA
The location and extent of the West of Scotland MPA
LocationNorth Atlantic, Scotland
Coordinates58°37′43″N 11°00′08″W
Area107,773 km2 (41,611 sq mi)[1]
DesignationScottish Government
Established2020
OperatorMarine Scotland
West of Scotland MPA

The MPA covers a diverse range of marine landscapes. Moving west, these include: the steep gradient of the continental slope; the sediment plains of the Rockall Trough; and the rising slopes of George Bligh Bank and the Rockall Bank. The area also includes two isolated seamounts: Anton Dohrn and Rosemary Bank. It protects several important habitats including deep-sea sponge aggregations and cold water coral reefs and gardens. Six species of deep-sea fish are specifically protected within the MPA: blue ling, orange roughy, leafscale gulper shark, gulper shark, Portuguese dogfish and round-nose grenadier.[4]

References
  1. "SiteLink: West of Scotland MPA(NC)". NatureScot. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  2. "West of Scotland Marine Protected Area Order 2020" (PDF). Scottish Government. 9 October 2020. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  3. "Europe's largest marine protected area comes into force". BBC News. 9 October 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  4. "West of Scotland Marine Protected Area". Joint Nature Conservation Committee. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
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