Downloads

This report provides an overview of the various management plans which have been developed for the coastal zone, coastal defence, estuaries, biodiversity and coastal habitats in the SEA3 area.

Numerous dynamic processes, both natural and man-made, affect the SEA3 coastline. After reviewing these processes, the report reviews the various coastal initiatives and management strategies which have been established to minimise their detrimental effects.

Various coastal fora provide a lead in developing management strategies for the enhancement and protection of the environment in their areas. Plans include European marine site management schemes, shoreline management plans prepared by coastal defence authorities, estuary management plans, coastal habitat management plans and biodiversity action plans.

This report summarises the large number of existing conservation sites and potential sites of conservation importance in the SEA3 area.

The SEA 3 area displays a wide variety of habitat types, from those of a coastal nature, such as estuarine mudflats and sandflats, saltmarsh, sea cliffs and reef habitats, to those associated with the offshore environment. Some of these habitats are rare in a national and/or international context, and many support important numbers of birds, insects and other animals.

Existing coastal and nearshore conservation sites are protected by international, national and local conservation designations. Statutory sites are legally protected whilst non-statutory sites rely on the planning process to confer protection.

The UK Government is currently taking steps to implement the EC Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive in offshore waters. A process to designate Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas, both within territorial waters and out to the limits of the UKCS, is under way. Potential offshore conservation sites are reviewed.

This report identifies coastal and near-shore conservation sites within the SEA4 area which are protected by international, national and local conservation designations as well as describing the sites and reasons for their protected status.

At the northern extremity of Britain, the SEA4 area combines very productive waters with spectacular and distinctive coastal scenery. The combination of rich food sources and relative lack of disturbance make it host to abundant bird populations, including rare species not found elsewhere in the United Kingdom. Among the conservation sites are sea inlets, mud and sand flats, lagoons, salt marshes, sand dunes, shingle, sea cliffs, fresh water bogs and marshes, heath, scrub and grassland.

An integral element of any environmental assessment for offshore oil and gas exploration, and for possible nearshore renewable energy proposals, involves a review of potential sites of conservational importance within the region of interest. For the purpose of SEA 5, this is especially important given the scale of the area in question and the fact that it includes the coastal zone which is known to support a large number of conservation sites.

The SEA 5 area displays a wide variety of habitat types such as coastal cliffs, rock platforms, beaches and dunes. The area also includes major estuaries such as the Tay and the Forth. Some of these habitats are rare in a national and/or international context, and many support important numbers of bird colonies, seals and, in the Moray Firth, dolphins.

This report identifies and locates coastal and nearshore sites within the SEA 5 area which are protected by international, national and local conservation designations as well as describing the sites and reasons for their protected status. The coastal conservation sites are listed according to whether they are of international, national or local importance.

For internationally important sites, summary information describing the main features of the site is provided and there is also an assessment of the vulnerability of the site and any relevant management issues.

The ordering of the national sites in this report does not imply any formal ranking, but is a relative judgement of their scientific importance. The conservation sites described in this section are listed in Table 1.1 and brief descriptions of the statutory and non-statutory mechanisms responsible for site protection are presented in Appendix 2. Statutory sites are legally protected whilst non-statutory sites rely on the planning process and other local agreements to confer protection.

Prepared by Aberdeen Institute of Coastal Science and Management, University of Aberdeen with Hartley Anderson Limited.

An integral element of any environmental assessment for offshore oil and gas development, and for possible nearshore renewable energy proposals, is a review of potential sites of conservational importance within the region of interest. For the purpose of SEA 6, this is especially important given the scale of the area (over 400 km from the tip of SW Wales to the Mull of Kintyre); its division into five separate states/provinces, each with their own nature conservation authorities and some differences in nature conservation legislation; the fact that it includes a very considerable length of coastal zone and that a very large proportion of those coasts are designated as nature conservation sites.

The report identifies and locates coastal and nearshore sites within the SEA 6 area which are protected by international, national and local conservation designations. The sites are briefly described and the reasons for their protected status are given. For internationally important sites, summary information describing the main features of the site is provided and there is also an assessment of the vulnerability of the site and any relevant management issues. The ordering of the national sites does not imply any formal ranking, but is a relative judgement of their conservation importance. Brief descriptions of the statutory and non-statutory mechanisms responsible for site protection are given. Statutory sites are legally protected whilst non-statutory sites rely on the planning process and other local agreements to confer protection.

The report was prepared by J. J. Moore of Coastal Assessment, Liaison & Monitoring.

SEA7 Technical Report - Conservation

The coastal and marine areas within the SEA 7 boundary are very extensive, longer and more varied than any other SEA area. Stretching westwards into the Atlantic Ocean, the region includes a very large area of relatively shallow continental shelf. There are also a few uninhabited islands to the west of the Outer Hebrides, including St. Kilda with its multiple conservation designations.

The Outer Hebrides form one of the oldest geological provinces in Europe and is mainly absed on Lewisian Gneiss. A major geological fault runs parallel to the east coast (The Minch coast), whereas the western side is normally a continuation of the continental shelf. These features are prominent in the southern islands, notably the Uists. Harris and Lewis present different topographies which include the high massif with Clisham at its centre and the low peat-covered plateaux of most of Lewis to the north. The east Minch coastline is generally steeper and falls to deeper inshore waters. It is also characterised by several transverse sea lochs which resemble similar fjords on the west mainland coast.

Although the legacy of glacial processes are complex, the main effect has been to over-deepen sea lochs and inter-island straits (e.g. Sound of Harris) and deposit great masses of glacial debris, especially sands, on the shallow continental shelf to the west where, with the prevalence of strong onshore Atlantic waves and winds, vast beaches were formed in this post glacial period.

Large quantities of organic sand (crushed shells) were added to this volume; as a consequence some of the larger beach and sand dune systems in Britain are found along the west coast. These extensive blown sand systems are called machairs, and provide a unique series of environmental and ecological systems with very high conservational status at European and international levels.

The west coast of the Outer Hebrides contains many sites of archaeological interest and retains a distinctive cultural landscape as one of the last strongholds of a historical system of land tenure and working found nowhere else in Europe. This way of life is considered to be one of the prime reasons for the creation and maintenance of many of the significant conservational attributes of the Outer Hebrides.

This report was prepared by Aberdeen Institute of Coastal Science and Management, University of Aberdeen with Hartley Anderson Limited.