4.3. Legislation and Conservation Designations

4.3.1. Legal Framework

  1. The Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) Regulations 1994 (as amended)[3] make it an offence to disturb a cetacean intentionally or recklessly in Scottish inshore waters (within 12 nm of the coast). Improved protection for seals is provided in the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010. In the UK, all species of cetaceans (porpoises, dolphins, and whales) out to 12 nm are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981).
  2. Several marine mammal species present in the UK waters are listed in Annex II of the Habitats Directive (Council Directive 92/43/EEC on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora) as species whose conservation requires the designation of SACs. In Scotland, the Habitats Directive is translated into legal obligations by the Conservation (Natural Habitats, etc.) Regulations 1994 (as amended), the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017, the Conservation of Offshore Marine Habitats and Species Regulations 2017, the Offshore Petroleum Activities (Conservation of Habitats) Regulations 2001 and the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (Government, 2015). Annex II marine mammal species for which SACs are designated within Scottish waters include harbour porpoise, grey seal, harbour seal and bottlenose dolphin. Under Annex IV of the Habitats Directive, all cetacean species are afforded strict protection wherever they occur within a Member State’s territory, both inside and outside designated protected areas. Here, they are termed European Protected Species (EPS).
  3. The Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 and The UK Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 include provisions to designate Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) (within territorial and offshore waters, respectively). MPAs are areas of the sea with special controls to protect species and habitats, and to support the wider marine ecosystem. A total of 36 Nature Conservation MPAs (ncMPAs) have been designated in Scotland’s seas (NatureScot, 2023).

4.3.2. Conservation Designations

  1. There are several designated areas within the regional marine mammal study area that have marine mammals as notified interest features. The entire regional marine mammal study area has been screened to identify the European sites that require further consideration due to a likely connectivity with the Array ( Table 4.4   Open ▸ ; Figure 4.1   Open ▸ ). In addition to the SACs considered in Table 4.4   Open ▸ , the Southern Trench ncMPA has been included due to the proximity to the Array and its importance for minke whale.

 

Table 4.4:
Relevant National and European Designated Sites for the Protection of Marine Mammals

Table 4.4: Relevant National and European Designated Sites for the Protection of Marine Mammals

 

  1. Potential connectivity of the designated sites listed in Table 4.4   Open ▸ with the Array is provided on a species-specific basis in section 5.

Figure 4.1:
Designated Sites for the Protection of Marine Mammals

Figure 4.1: Designated Sites for the Protection of Marine Mammals


                        Southern Trench ncMPA

  1. The Southern Trench ncMPA lies approximately 66.9 km north-west of the Array marine mammal study area ( Figure 4.1   Open ▸ ), covers an area of approximately 2,536 km2 and was designated by Marine Scotland as a Nature Conservation MPA in 2020 (NatureScot, 2020). It is protected for containing persistently above average densities of minke whale, where both juvenile and adult whales are regularly observed feeding (NatureScot, 2020). Adjusted densities showed high densities of minke whale north of the coastline from Buckie to Fraserburgh in particular. Recent evidence has suggested some spatial separation or habitat partitioning by age-class, with juveniles showing a preference for the shallower, inshore waters with sandy gravel sediments, whilst adults showing preference for deeper, offshore waters with greater bathymetric slope (Robinson et al., 2023). This ncMPA lies within the Celtic and Greater North Seas (CGNS) MU for minke whale (IAMMWG, 2022).

                        Firth of Tay and Eden Estuary SAC

  1. The Firth of Tay and Eden Estuary SAC lies approximately 113.7 km west of the Array marine mammal study area ( Figure 4.1   Open ▸ ), covers an area of approximately 155 km2 and comprises of two high quality estuarine areas, which are integral components of a large, geomorphologically complex area (JNCC, 2023a). The SAC supports a breeding colony of harbour seal. Adult harbour seals use sandbanks within this SAC as a haul out habitat to rest, pup and moult (JNCC, 2023a).
  2. Between 1990 and 2002, the majority of the East Scotland seal MU harbour seal population was located in the Firth of Tay and Eden Estuary SAC. During this period, harbour seal counts in this SAC remained stable, representing approximately 85% of the East Scotland seal MU count (Stevens, 2023). The population within the SAC then declined rapidly from 2002 to 2021 to a count of 41 individuals, representing an approximate 95% decline in the population. As such, the SAC now accounts for approximately 16% of the haul out counts in the East Scotland seal MU. There is, however, recent evidence that this decline may be slowing (Stevens, 2023).

                        Berwickshire and North Northumberland Coast SAC 

  1. The Berwickshire and North Northumberland Coast SAC ( Figure 4.1   Open ▸ ) extends over an area of 652 km2 and lies approximately 114 km from the Array marine mammal study area (JNCC, 2023b). The SAC features an extensive and diverse stretch of coastline in south-east Scotland and north-east England and hosts a range of Annex I habitats, including mudflats and sandflats not covered by seawater at low tide, large shallow inlets and bays, reefs as well as submerged and partially submerged sea caves (JNCC, 2023b).
  2. This SAC is located within the East Scotland and Northeast England seal MUs and contains two large, discrete Annex II grey seal breeding populations at the Farne Islands and Fast Castle. The Farne Islands have been an important breeding site since the Middle Ages (SCOS, 2023), while Fast Castle is a recently established breeding site first colonised in the 1990s. The grey seal pup production at the Farne Islands and Fast Castle has shown a recent, rapid increase (Stevens, 2023). From 2014 to 2019, the mean estimated increase in grey seal pup production at Farne Islands was 53% (SCOS, 2022).

                        Southern North Sea SAC

  1. The Southern North Sea SAC lies along the east coast of England ( Figure 4.1   Open ▸ ), predominantly in the offshore waters (88% of the site) of the central and southern North Sea. The SAC covers an area of 36,951 km2 and is located 130.7 km to the south-east of the Array marine mammal study area. It was designated for harbour porpoise (JNCC, 2023cc) and supports an estimated 17.5% of the UK North Sea MU population. The northern section of the SAC (approximately two-thirds of its total area) supports higher densities of porpoises during the summer season (April to September), whilst the southern section is recognised as an important area during the winter season (October to March) (JNCC, 2023cc).

                        Isle of May SAC 

  1. The Isle of May SAC extends over an area of 3.5 km2 (JNCC, 2023d). The SAC is located approximately 130.9 km from the Array marine mammal study area ( Figure 4.1   Open ▸ ) and supports a breeding colony of grey seals (JNCC, 2023dd). It is located within the East Scotland SMU.
  2. Grey seal pup production at the Isle of May SAC increased at a rate of 9.9% per year since surveys began (1979), before reaching an peak of approximately 2,000 pups in the late 1990s (SCOS, 2022). Although prior to the 1990s the Isle of May SAC was the dominant location for grey seal pup production within the East Scotland MU, pup production is now considered to be stable or potentially declining (Stevens, 2023).

                        Moray Firth SAC

  1. The Moray Firth in north-east Scotland supports the only known resident population of bottlenose dolphin in the North Sea. The Moray Firth SAC is located approximately 176.5 km to the north of the Array marine mammal study area ( Figure 4.1   Open ▸ ) and covers an area of 1,512 km2 (JNCC, 2023ee). Bottlenose dolphins associated with the Moray Firth SAC are part of a Scottish east coast population of 224 animals that range south past Aberdeen to the Firths of Tay and Forth (Quick et al., 2014, Arso Civil et al., 2019). Data from site condition monitoring for the SAC suggest that the proportion of the east coast of Scotland bottlenose dolphin population that use the SAC has declined, although the overall population along the east coast is increasing (Cheney et al., 2018, Arso Civil et al., 2019, Arso Civil et al., 2021). The resident population of bottlenose dolphin from the Moray Firth SAC is now known to venture down the coast of east Scotland and England as far south as Scarborough, where there have been regular sightings in recent years (Hackett, 2022).