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Aberdeenshire
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About
The waters surrounding Aberdeenshire are characterised by a wide range of geological and geomorphological features that, in turn, host a diverse array of marine habitats and species.
One area of particular interest is the Southern Trench, located along the south coast of the Moray Firth. Approximately 120 km long and reaching depths of 250 m, it is one of the largest enclosed glacial seabed basins mapped in Scottish waters. It is considered ecologically important due to the occurrence of biodiversity features that include burrowed mud, fronts, shelf deeps, and minke whales. On the basis of these features, it has been proposed for protection as a Scottish Nature Conservation Marine Protected Area.
Other seabed features of interest in the Aberdeenshire area include kelp forests; extensive muddy areas with sea pens and burrowing megafauna such as Norway lobster; and the reef-building ross worm (Sabellaria spinulosa).
The seas off Aberdeenshire are also an area of intense fishing activity, oil and gas exploration, and shipping traffic.
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Photos
© OCEANA / Juan Cuetos
© OCEANA / Carlos Minguell
© OCEANA / Juan Cuetos
© OCEANA / Carlos Minguell
© OCEANA / Juan Cuetos
© OCEANA / Juan Cuetos
© OCEANA / Juan Cuetos
© OCEANA / Juan Cuetos
© OCEANA / Juan Cuetos
© OCEANA / Carlos Minguell
© OCEANA / Juan Cuetos
© OCEANA / Carlos Minguell
© OCEANA / Juan Cuetos
© OCEANA / Juan Cuetos
© OCEANA / Juan Cuetos
© OCEANA / Juan Cuetos
Transboundary Area
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This transboundary area at the centre of the North Sea, to the north of Dogger Bank, encompasses waters belonging to Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, and the UK. The Fulmar Marine Conservation Zone, designated for features such as subtidal sands and ocean quahog (Arctica islandica), overlaps with the northwestern part of this area.
Studies focused on Fulmar have suggested the presence of potentially interesting habitats in this survey area, such as fields of sea pens. The Southern North Sea Natura 2000 area was designated to protect harbour porpoise in these waters, but there is only limited information about the habitat types and species present on the seabed.
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© OCEANA
© OCEANA / Juan Cuetos
Braemar and Scanner Pockmarks
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The Scanner Pockmark complex and the Braemar Pockmarks complex both lie in the northern North Sea, off the northeast coast of Scotland. Both sites contain numerous depressions in the seafloor called pockmarks, which are formed by fluids seeping from the seabed. Some pockmarks contain slabs of carbonates that are formed by the precipitation of methane gas during oxidation. Due to the presence of these structures in Scanner and Braemar, both sites are designated as Natura 2000 areas. Such structures can provide a habitat for animals that are normally associated with rocky reefs and can also host chemosynthetic organisms and provide shelter for fish.
The dominant bottom-type in both Scanner and Braemar is burrowed mud. Such habitats are considered as being threatened and requiring conservation action under both OSPAR and the UK Biodiversity Action Plan, and are a Priority Marine Feature in Scottish waters. Burrowed mud habitats are home to a faunal community that typically includes sea pens, worms, anemones, crustaceans and fish.
In early 2018, both the Braemar Pockmarks and Scanner Pockmark Natura 2000 areas were nearly doubled in size, to encompass additional pockmarks. A proposal was put forward in 2016, to prohibit all bottom fishing gears in both areas, but this proposal is still pending approval.
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Devil's Hole
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This area, which spans both English and Scottish waters, is of great potential ecological interest because the seabed is characterised by a series of long and deep trenches. These trenches are an average of 20-30 km in length, and reach depths of up to 230 metres.
As a result, the benthic communities differ from those found in the sandy bottoms of the surrounding areas. Some species associated with soft bottoms, such as Norway lobster (Nephrops norvegicus), are also known to occur in Devil’s Hole, but available information is very limited.
The area has been considered in the past as a potential candidate for protection, both by English and Scottish authorities, but the lack of data had apparently proven an obstacle. The waters of Devil’s Hole fall within the large Natura 2000 area Southern North Sea, which was designated to protect harbour porpoise. However, the seabed remains unprotected, and trawl fisheries for Norway lobster operate in the area.
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© OCEANA / Juan Cuetos
© OCEANA / Carlos Minguell
© OCEANA / Juan Cuetos
Newcastle to Firth of Forth
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The area between Newcastle and the Firth of Forth is of conservation interest due to the variety of substrates, species, and community types that are known to occur there. Species found in this area include sponges, anemones, sea pens, segmented worms, bivalves, and marine mammals such as harbour porpoise and grey seal.
Roughly 40 different marine protected areas overlap with the Newcastle to Firth of Forth area; most of these sites are small and coastal. Several larger protected areas are also found here. The Farnes East Marine Conservation Zone contains coarse sediments and covers part of the Farnes Deep glacial trench, which is the deepest part of the MCZ. To the north, the Scottish Nature Conservation Marine Protected Area Firth of Forth Banks Complex was designated to protect aggregations of ocean quahog (Arctica islandica) and features of the seabed. The Newcastle to Firth of Forth area also partially overlaps with the closure put in place by the European Union in an effort to protect sandeels.
A wide array of fish species have spawning and/or nursery habitats in the area, ranging from cod (Gadus morhua) and whiting (Merlangius merlangus) to spurdog (Squalus acanthius) and spotted ray (Raja montagui). The region is an important fishing ground for Norway lobster (Nephrops norvegicus).
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© OCEANA / Juan Cuetos
© OCEANA / Juan Cuetos
© OCEANA / Carlos Minguell
© OCEANA / Carlos Minguell
© OCEANA / Carlos Minguell
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Offshore from Tees Estuary
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This area is characterised by a range of different types of sediments, including coarse sediments, but detailed information on marine life in the area was relatively limited. The area is known to represent an important spawning and/or nursery ground for many species of fish, including cod (Gadus morhua), herring (Clupea harengus), mackerel (Scomber scombrus), plaice (Pleuronectes platessa), sandeels (Ammodytidae), sprat (Sprattus sprattus), and whiting (Merlangius merlangus).
The survey area overlaps slightly with a recommended Marine Conservation Zone, Compass Rose, which had been considered on the basis of specific substrates present in the area, as well as ocean quahog (Arctica islandica) and smelt (Osmerus eperianus) . In the end, the area has not been proposed for protection, partly because there were insufficient data to conclusively state the presence of ocean quahog and smelt.
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© OCEANA / Juan Cuetos
© OCEANA / Juan Cuetos
Holderness
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The area is partially protected by two MPAs: the Natura 2000 site Flamborough Head in the northern part of the survey area, which contains boulder reefs and sandbanks, and the Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ) Holderness Inshore, which was designated in 2016 to protect an array of habitat types that support a diversity of fauna. The survey area also overlaps with the proposed MCZ Holderness Offshore, an important areafor biodiversity, with fish spawning and nursery grounds, foraging habitat for seabirds, and records of basking sharks. Protection of the Holderness Offshore is still pending a decision by the UK government.
Photos
© OCEANA / Juan Cuetos
© OCEANA / Juan Cuetos
© OCEANA / Juan Cuetos
© OCEANA / Juan Cuetos
© OCEANA / Juan Cuetos
© OCEANA / Juan Cuetos
© OCEANA / Juan Cuetos
© OCEANA / Juan Cuetos
© OCEANA / Juan Cuetos
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Norfolk Banks
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The Norfolk Banks area is characterised by a series of linear ridge sandbanks, extending outwards off the northeast coast of Norfolk, to a distance of approximately 60 nm offshore. The area includes two Natura 2000 areas (North Norfolk Sandbanks and Saturn Reef, and Haisborough, Hammond and Winterton) that are both designated for the protection of sandbanks and reefs. These two areas also form part of the OSPAR MPA network.
Seabed communities in the area include the presence of fragile reefs formed by aggregations of ross worm (Sabellaria spinulosa). These reefs are vulnerable to physical damage from the impacts of bottom-towed fishing gear. Proposals for the prohibition of such gear in the two protected areas were developed, with the aim of protecting both reefs and sandbanks. However, their approval is still pending and to date, no such management measures have been adopted.
The Southern North Sea protected area for harbour porpoise also overlaps with the majority of the Norfolk Banks area.
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© OCEANA / Juan Cuetos
© OCEANA / Juan Cuetos
© OCEANA / Juan Cuetos
© OCEANA / Juan Cuetos
© OCEANA / Juan Cuetos
© OCEANA / Juan Cuetos
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Cleaver Bank (Klaverbank)
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This is a transboundary area, which includes both Dutch and UK waters. It is partially protected, via the Dutch Natura 2000 site Klaverbank, which was designated to protect marine mammals (i.e., grey seal, common seal, and common porpoise) and for reefs. Due to the variety of substrates present, the benthos is highly diverse. Cleaver Bank is considered to be the area of highest zoobenthic diversity on the Dutch continental shelf.
Photos
© OCEANA / Juan Cuetos
© OCEANA / Juan Cuetos
© OCEANA / Juan Cuetos
Brown Bank (Bruine Bank)
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About
The Brown Bank is a transboundary area situated in the southern North Sea, between the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
The bank recognised for its ecological interest, due primarily to the high recorded abundance of cetaceans and seabirds in the region. It is a key habitat for harbour purpoise as well as serving as an essential fish habitat for a variety of commercial species, like: cod, herring, mackerel, sprat, sole, place or whiting.
To date, however, Brown Bank has received very little protection. While the UK side is protected to some extent, no protection is in place for the Dutch side, although it qualifies for inclusion in the Natura 2000 network of protected sites. The government of the Netherlands has repeatedly postponed its decision on the designation of Brown Bank as a marine protected area.
Despite the known importance of Brown Bank for marine life, relatively less attention has been devoted to its benthic biodiversity. To address this information gap, Oceana carried out two research surveys in 2016 and 2017, to gather information about benthic species and communities.
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© OCEANA / Juan Cuetos
© OCEANA / Juan Cuetos
© OCEANA / Juan Cuetos
Norwegian Trench (Norskerenna)
About
From a biodiversity perspective, the Norwegian waters of the North Sea represent one of the most interesting areas. The deepest waters in the region (roughly 700 metres depth) are found here, within the Norwegian Trench, with high levels of associated biodiversity and assemblages not found elsewhere in the North Sea.
Marine life associated with the Norwegian North Sea ranges from seabirds, shallow-water fishes, and marine mammals such as harbour porpoise and orca, to deep-sea corals and sponges, deep-water sharks and other fishes, and an array of benthic invertebrates.
While extensive research on benthic ecosystems in Norwegian waters has been carried out in the Nordic Seas, relatively less attention has been focused on the country's North Sea waters, including the Norwegian Trench. Protection of these waters is also limited, particularly offshore, where the trench is found. All seven of the marine protected areas that lie within the Oceana survey area are coastal. At the same time, the North Sea and Skagerrak area is the most heavily affected marine region in Norway by human activities, including shipping, fisheries, and oil and gas exploitation.
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© OCEANA / Carlos Minguell
© OCEANA / Carlos Minguell
© OCEANA / Carlos Minguell
© OCEANA / Carlos Minguell
© OCEANA / Juan Cuetos
© OCEANA / Juan Cuetos
© OCEANA / Juan Cuetos
© OCEANA / Juan Cuetos
© OCEANA / Juan Cuetos
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Northern Denmark
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The seabed in the Danish North Sea consists mainly of sandy and muddy bottoms and patches of till, which are dominated by soft-bottom communities. Most of the area is shallower than 80-90 m depth, with banks such as Little Fisher (Lillefiskerbanke) and Jutland Bank (Jyske Rev) reaching 30-40 m depth. The deepest waters (more than 480 m) are found in the Skagerrak, to the north of Denmark.
Some biodiversity hotspots, such as stone reefs and bubbling reefs, are known to occur within the Northern Denmark area. Benthic habitat mapping has been carried out within Natura 2000 sites in the area, but little is known about benthic assemblages across much of the offshore waters. Many commercial species can be also found in the area, such as cod (Gadus morhua), haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus), saithe (Pollachius virens) and Norway pout (Trisopterus esmarkii), with densities that are among the highest in all Danish waters.
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© OCEANA / Juan Cuetos
© OCEANA / Juan Cuetos
© OCEANA / Juan Cuetos
© OCEANA / Juan Cuetos
© OCEANA / Carlos Minguell
© OCEANA / Carlos Minguell
© OCEANA / Carlos Minguell
© OCEANA / Carlos Minguell
© OCEANA / Juan Cuetos
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Sylt Reef (Sild Rev/Sylter Riff)
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This is a transboundary area in the southern North Sea, which includes both Danish and German waters. Data about the seabed and benthic marine life are known to be lacking from the area, which includes bands of stone reefs along the slope of the glacial Elbe valley.
The eastern half of the survey area encompasses several Natura 2000 marine protected areas. In Danish waters, Sydlige Nordsø was designated to protect sandbanks, marine mammals (i.e., grey seal, harbour seal, and harbour porpoise), and seabirds. The adjacent protected area in German waters (Sylter Außenriff) includes reefs, sandbanks, marine mammals, seabirds, and anadromous fishes among its protected features. This site partially overlaps with a third Natura 2000 area, Östliche Deutsche Bucht (Eastern German Bight) which is protected due to its importance for seabirds. The western half of the survey area is not protected.
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© OCEANA / Juan Cuetos
© OCEANA / Juan Cuetos
© OCEANA / Carlos Minguell
© OCEANA / Carlos Minguell
© OCEANA / Carlos Minguell
© OCEANA / Carlos Minguell
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Vesterhavet
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Little is known from this area regarding benthic habitats, with few studies having been carried out. Some previous surveys had been carried out in the northern part, but mainly focused on sediments in relation to establishing windmill farms; information from the southern part of the area was quite limited.
The substrate is mainly sandy, but it has been suggested that stone reefs may occur in the southwestern part of the study area. The Vesterhavet sampling area also overlaps with a small area of the Natura 2000 site Sydlige Nordsø, which was designated for the protection of sandbanks, seabirds, and seals.
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© OCEANA / Juan Cuetos
© OCEANA / Juan Cuetos
© OCEANA / Juan Cuetos
© OCEANA / Juan Cuetos
© OCEANA / Juan Cuetos
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Borkum Stones (Borkumse Stenen/Borkum-Riffgrund)
About
Borkum Stones is located in the southern North Sea, encompassing waters of both the Netherlands and Germany. It is a shallow marine area, with depths ranging from 8-33 metres.
This area is one of only two natural hard-bottom areas that remain in Dutch waters, after decades of damaging anthropogenic activities. The other such area, Cleaver Bank (Klaverbank), is already protected under the Habitats Directive, on the basis of its reef habitat.
The seabed in Borkum Stones is home to a wide variety of benthic communities, and the German side of Borkum Stones was declared a Natura 2000 protected area (Borkum-Riffgrund) in 2007, designated for reefs and sandbanks, as well as for seabirds and marine mammals. While the Dutch side is similar, and has been recognised as an area with special ecological value, no protection is in place yet on the Dutch side.
Borkum Stones is a small area under heavy anthropogenic pressure, due to the convergence of multiple human activities, such as fishing, shipping, sand extraction, military training, and windfarms. Fishing is considered to represent the greatest impact to benthic animals in the area, and the zoobenthos and the seabed is also crisscrossed by pipelines and telecommunications cables.
In 2017, an agreement was reached among the Dutch Government, the (shrimp) fishing sector and environmental NGOs, in which an area of 108 km2 will be protected in Borkum Stones. The agreed area will protect mainly sandbanks, as well as reefs, fields of sand mason worm (Lanice conchilega). It will only cover a small proportion of the Dutch waters of Borkum Stones, but nevertheless represents a step forward.
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Gas Seeps (Gasfonteinen)
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This area had been considered by Dutch authorities as a candidate for protection, because of the possible presence of unique features of the seabed caused by hydrocarbon seeps (such as pockmarks and carbonate mounds), which are a priority for protection under the EU Habitats Directive. However, despite the presence of seeping gases, studies did not find any such structures in the area, perhaps due to the high intensity of bottom fishing. As a result, the area was not protected. The Gas Seeps area is known to support a high density and richness of macrobenthic species, including long‐lived species.
Frisian Front (Friese Front)
About
The Frisian Front is a frontal area on the Dutch continental shelf, where water coming from the English Channel meets Atlantic water from the north. It acts as a deposition zone for silt and nutrients, resulting in an enriched benthic area.
In 2004, the Dutch government identified the Frisian Front as an area of special ecological value. It is characterised by high abundance and diversity of benthic animals, including the presence of long-lived, vulnerable species such as ocean quahog (Arctica islandica). The area is also of high value for seabirds such as common guillemot (Uria aalge), for which it was designated in 2016 as a Natura 2000 area under the EU Birds Directive.
Due to its importance for benthic marine life, the Frisian Front was included in Dutch plans for 2012-2020 under the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive, with the aim of protecting part of the seabed in this area from fisheries impacts. A proposal was since developed to close two areas, totalling 1000 km2, to bottom-impacting fishing gears. This measure is pending final approval and implementation.
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This area is known for its previous richness in European oysters (Ostrea edulis), but there are no longer any oysters left, due in part to overfishing. The site consists of soft substrate, and hosts a high diversity and density of species, including large, long-lived species such as ocean quahog (Arctica islandica).
The Central Oyster Grounds was identified by the Dutch government as an area of special ecological value and was included in Dutch plans for 2012-2020 under the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive, with the aim of protecting part of the seabed in this area from fisheries impacts. A proposal was since developed to close an area of 1000 km2 from bottom-impacting fishing gears. This measure is pending final approval and implementation.
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© OCEANA / Juan Cuetos
© OCEANA / Juan Cuetos
© OCEANA / Juan Cuetos
© OCEANA / Juan Cuetos
© OCEANA / Juan Cuetos
© OCEANA / Carlos Minguell
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