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Publication - Advice and guidance

Offshore Marine Protected Areas - fisheries management measures: supporting guidance on coordinates and restrictions:

Published
1 September 2025
From
Director of Marine
Directorate
Marine Directorate
Topic
Environment and climate change, Marine and fisheries
ISBN
9781806430871

Detailed guidance on site-specific fisheries management measures within Scottish Offshore Marine Protected Areas, including restricted gear types, gear codes, and precise area coordinates, to support compliance and promote sustainable use of marine resources in designated protected zones.

Part of

View supporting documents Supporting documents

West Shetland Shelf MPA

Location: ICES area 6a

Measures: Dredge and beam trawling prohibited from full site. Demersal mobile gear prohibited in two zoned areas.

Gear types subject to restrictions

Demersal Mobile Gear:

  • Bottom trawl: OTB, OTT, PTB, TBN, TBS, and TB
  • Beam trawl: TBB
  • Seines: SDN, SSC, SPR, SX, and SV
  • Dredge (boat and mechanised): DRB and HMD
Figure 20: Map of the West Shetland Shelf MPA. Horizontally hatched areas prohibit dredges or beam trawls, while diagonally hatched areas prohibit all demersal mobile gear.
This map shows the West Shetland Shelf MPA, outlining site boundaries and sediment types. Horizontal hatching shows zones where dredges or beam trawls are banned; diagonal hatching indicates areas where demersal mobile gear is prohibited. An inset map shows the site location to the west of Scotland.

Whole Site (Dredges and beam trawls prohibited)

Boundary Line Set of co-ordinates of points which the boundary line joins Topographic description of boundary line
1. A to B Geodesic line
2. B to C Geodesic line
3. C to D Geodesic line
4. D to E Geodesic line
5. E to F Meridian of longitude
6. F to G Geodesic line
7. G to H Geodesic line
8. H to I Geodesic line
9. I to J Geodesic line
10. J to K Geodesic line
11. K to L Geodesic line
12. L to A Geodesic line

Where—

“A” is 59° 26.783' N, 006° 05.802' W,

“B” is 59° 30.007' N, 006° 00.000' W,

“C” is 59° 40.001' N, 005° 00.000' W,

“D” is 59° 51.702' N, 004° 24.904' W,

“E” is 59° 48.460' N, 004° 00.000' W,

“F” is 59° 30.016' N, 004° 00.000' W,

“G” is 59° 16.185' N, 005° 31.195' W,

“H” is 59° 19.051' N, 005° 39.422' W,

“I” is 59° 19.960' N, 005° 43.890' W,

“J” is 59° 20.290' N, 005° 49.837' W,

“K” is 59° 19.708' N, 005° 56.502' W, and

“L” is 59° 18.443' N, 006° 01.946' W

First Area (Demersal mobile gear prohibited)

Boundary Line Set of co-ordinates of points which the boundary line joins Topographic description of boundary line
1. M to N Geodesic
2. N to O Meridian of longitude
3. O to P Parallel of latitude
4. P to Q Meridian of longitude
5. Q to R Geodesic
6. R to S Meridian of longitude
7. S to T Parallel of latitude
8. T to U Meridian of longitude
9. U to V Parallel of latitude
10. V to W Meridian of longitude
11. W to X Parallel of latitude
12. X to M Meridian of longitude

Where—

“M” is 59° 31.536' N, 005° 51.000' W,

“N” is 59° 37.056' N, 005° 18.000' W,

“O” is 59° 21.000' N, 005° 18.000' W,

“P” is 59° 21.000' N, 005° 12.000' W,

“Q” is 59° 19.200' N, 005° 12.000' W,

“R” is 59° 16.848' N, 005° 27.000' W,

“S” is 59° 18.000' N, 005° 27.000' W,

“T” is 59° 18.000' N, 005° 33.000' W,

“U” is 59° 24.000' N, 005° 33.000' W,

“V” is 59° 24.000' N, 005° 54.000' W,

“W” is 59° 30.000' N, 005° 54.000' W, and

“X” is 59° 30.000' N, 005° 51.000' W

Second Area (Demersal mobile gear prohibited)

Boundary Line Set of co-ordinates of points which the boundary line joins Topographic description of boundary line
1. Y to Z Geodesic
2. Z to AA Geodesic
3. AA to AB Meridian of longitude
4. AB to AC Parallel of latitude
5. AC to AD Meridian of longitude
6. AD to AE Parallel of latitude
7. AE to AF Meridian of longitude
8. AF to AG Geodesic
9. AG to AH Meridian of longitude
10. AH to AI Parallel of latitude
11. AI to AJ Meridian of longitude
12. AJ to AK Parallel of latitude
13. AK to Y Meridian of longitude

Where—

“Y” is 59° 39.510' N, 005° 03.000' W,

“Z” is 59° 40.001' N, 005° 00.000' W,

“AA” is 59° 49.026' N, 004° 33.000' W,

“AB” is 59° 45.000' N, 004° 33.000' W,

“AC” is 59° 45.000' N, 004° 24.000' W,

“AD” is 59° 27.000' N, 004° 24.000' W,

“AE” is 59° 27.000' N, 004° 33.000' W,

“AF” is 59° 25.154' N, 004° 33.000' W,

“AG” is 59° 21.516' N, 004° 57.000' W,

“AH” is 59° 24.000' N, 004° 57.000' W,

“AI” is 59° 24.000' N, 004° 51.000' W,

“AJ” is 59° 30.000' N, 004° 51.000' W, and

“AK” is 59° 30.000' N, 005° 03.000' W

Contact

Email: Marine_biodiversity@gov.scot

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