Special Areas of Conservation
Marine SACs
The diverse shores and coastal waters of Scotland include a number of the marine habitats and species listed in Annexes I and II of the Habitats Directive. From the outset of the SAC selection process the best areas for these habitats and species, within inshore waters and out to the limit of UK territorial seas, have been proposed as candidate SACs. As at 1 April 2005, a total of 34 sites with marine interest have been designated as SACs. The current site list for Scotland includes details of these areas.
European Marine Sites – Regulation 33
Under Regulation 33(2) of the Habitats
Regulations once a marine area becomes a designated SAC (European marine
site), SNH is obliged to advise other relevant authorities as to a) the conservation
objectives for that site, and b) any operations which may cause deterioration
of natural habitats or the habitats of species, or disturbance of species,
for which the site has been designated. In Scotland, 6 of the 34 marine SACs
have purely intertidal marine interests and are fully underpinned by the SSSI
mechanism. For these sites, the duties imposed on SNH by Regulation 33 are
discharged by SSSI protective measures and notifications. The remaining 28
sites contain significant subtidal areas (i.e. lying below Mean Low Water
Springs) which cannot be notified under the SSSI system. Documents containing
the Regulation 33 advice for each of these 28 European marine sites are available
via the links below (these are available as pdf 
format);
Marine SACs in Offshore Waters
In addition, as a result of a UK court judgement in 1999, the UK Government is taking steps to implement the Habitats Directive in offshore waters as well. In this context ‘offshore waters’ refers to the area from the 12 nautical mile territorial seas limit out to the the limit of the UK Continental Shelf. More information about Natura 2000 sites in offshore waters can be found on the JNCC website. So far, one site has been formally identified as a possible SAC as a possible SAC in offshore waters. This area is known as the Darwin Mounds and is proposed for its cold water coral reefs. Several other sites in offshore waters are under consideration as draft SACs.
Further information on all aspects of marine SACs in UK waters is available on the JNCC website.