Offshore Possible SACs

1. SAC Selection Assessment Document - Detailing the scientific justification for the site;
2. Draft Conservation Objectives and Advice on Operations - Providing, in draft format, guidance to the Competent Authorities on managing human activities on the site;
3. GIS boundary for the pSAC - Please note that boundaries for future sites are not fixed until the site has been submitted to the European Commission. Therefore this site boundary may change.

Hatton Bank

Hatton Bank is a large volcanic bank in the North-East Atlantic. The depth of the bank ranges from less than 500 to over 1000 metres. The hard substrates provided by the stony and bedrock reef on the site support a wide array of species. These include scleractinian corals, lace corals, black corals, soft corals and cup corals as well as seafans and sponges. Cold water coral reefs, made up of Lophelia pertusa and Madrepora oculata, are also present. Further details of the 2005-2006 Strategic Environmental Assessment surveys that visited and collected data at Hatton Bank are also available.

Hatton Bank SAC Selection Assessment Document (2,256 KB)

Hatton Bank Draft Conservation Objectives and Advice on Operations (666 KB)

Hatton Bank pSAC boundary

Pobie Bank Reef

Pobie Bank Reef is located in the North Sea, approximately 20km east of Shetland, Scotland. The site is approximately 70km long and 21km wide with seabed depth ranging from 70m to 100m. The reef is composed of a combination of stony and bedrock reef and in the central section of the reef there are very large, rugged bedrock outcrops. The reef provides a habitat to an extensive community of encrusting and robust sponges and bryozoans, which are found throughout the site. This includes encrusting coralline algae, cup sponges, and bryozoans in the shallower areas; and small erect sponges, cup corals and brittlestars in the deeper areas. Harbour porpoise, grey seal and harbour (common) seal are present at Pobie Bank Reef and are included as non-qualifying features. Further details of the 2005-2006 Strategic Environmental Assessment surveys that visited and collected data at Pobie Bank are also available, as well as the JNCC report 'Foster-Smith, R, Benson, A and Foster-Smith, J. 2009. Interpretation of Pobie Bank East of Shetland for Annex I Reef, JNCC Report No. 433'.

Pobie Bank Reef SAC Selection Assessment Document (592 KB)

Pobie Bank Reef Draft Conservation Objectives and Advice on Operations (444 KB)

Pobie Bank Reef pSAC boundary

Solan Bank Reef

Solan Bank Reef is located approximately 50km north of Cape Wrath on the Scottish mainland. The majority of the site lies in water depths of 60 – 80m. However to the south east of the site an outcrop of bedrock reef rises to approx 20m below the sea surface whilst the north of the site extends to >90m water depth. The reefs are characterised by encrusting fauna, mainly encrusting bryozoans and in the shallower areas, encrusting coralline algae. Also present are cup corals, including an as yet unrecognised species, brittlestars, a range of sponges, bryozoans, hydroids, soft coral, jewel anemones, foliose red algaes and kelp. Harbour porpoise, bottlenose dolphin, grey seal and harbour (common) seal are present at Solan Bank Reef and are included as non-qualifying features. Further information on the 2008 JNCC survey of Submarine Structures in the Mid-Irish Sea and Solan Bank is also available.

Solan Bank Reef SAC Selection Assessment Document (2,375 KB)

Solan Bank Reef Draft Conservation Objectives and Advice on Operations (409 KB)

Solan Bank Reef pSAC boundary

Anton Dohrn Seamount

Anton Dohrn Seamount is a former volcano located to the west of Scotland, about 200km from the Outer Hebrides. The top is at 1100m and is interspersed with features extending to a maximum height of around 530m below sea level. The seamount is approximately 1800m high and the steep cliffs extend down to ~ 2400m. The reefs support assemblages of sea cucumbers, brittlestars, cup corals, sponges, gorgonians (sea whips or sea fans) and other corals. The cold water coral Lophelia pertusa forms clumps of reef which occur at the top of the seamount support a rich assemblage of associated fauna including other corals, squat lobster and urchins.

Further information on the 2009 JNCC survey of Anton Dohrn Seamount and East Rockall Bank is also available.

Anton Dohrn Seamount SAC Selection Assessment Document (2,571 KB)

Anton Dohrn Seamount Draft Conservation Objectives and Advice on Operations (480 KB)

Anton Dohrn Seamount pSAC boundary

East Rockall Bank

East Rockall Bank is located to the west of Scotland, about 320km west of the Outer Hebrides. It is located along the eastern flank of Rockall Bank geological feature where the slope descends steeply down to over 1000m and is cut by two canyons. The stony reef at the summit supports bryozoans and sponges as well as the cold water coral Lophelia pertusa which forms clumps of reef.  A rocky ledge of bedrock reef that runs the length of the eastern flank supports lace corals and sponges whilst the stony reef found below this further down the slope provides a substrate for corals and sponges. Further information on the 2009 JNCC survey of Anton Dohrn Seamount and East Rockall Bank is also available.

East Rockall Bank SAC Selection Assessment Document (2,130 KB)

East Rockall Bank Draft Conservation Objectives and Advice on Operations (443 KB)

East Rockall Bank pSAC boundary

Wight-Barfleur Reef

The Wight-Barfleur reef is an area of bedrock and stony reef located in the central English Channel, between St Catherine’s point on the Isle of Wight and Barfleur Point on the Cotentin Peninsula in northern France. The depth within the SAC ranges from 25m to 100m, with the deepest areas to the south, and within the palaeovalley which runs along the south-east part of the SAC. The bedrock and stony reef areas support a diverse range of reef fauna. There are many types of sponges present, from encrusting sponges to larger branching types. Tube worms, anemones and sea squirts are also common on the large boulders and bedrock.

Wight-Barfleur Reef SAC Selection Assessment Document (1,003 KB)

Wight-Barfleur Reef Draft Conservation Objectives and Advice on Operations (382 KB)

Wight-Barfleur Reef pSAC boundary

Croker Carbonate Slabs

The Croker Carbonate Slabs is an area in the mid-Irish Sea, approximately 30km west of Anglesey, where extensive areas of the Annex I feature “submarine structures made by leaking gases” have been identified. The site lies in 70m water depth in the north descending down to approximately 100m at the south west corner. The seabed surface is composed of extensive areas of exposed methane-derived authigenic carbonate (MDAC). The seabed habitats created by these MDAC structures are distinctive, supporting a diverse range of marine species that are absent from the surrounding seabed characterised by coarse sediment.  Areas of ‘high relief’ MDAC support a diverse range of soft corals, erect filter feeders, sponges, tube worms and anemones whilst the ‘low relief’ MDAC is colonised with scour-resistant hydroids and bryozoans. Further details of the 2008 JNCC survey to the area are also available.

Croker Carbonate Slabs SAC Selection Assessment Document (892 KB)

Croker Carbonate Slabs Draft Conservation Objectives and Advice on Operations (401 KB)

Croker Carbonate Slabs pSAC boundary 

Pisces Reef Complex

The Pisces Reef Complex is located in the western Irish Sea, in the north-west mud basin. It is approximately midway between the Isle of Man and the coast of Northern Ireland. The area consists of an extensive mud plain through which three areas of Annex I bedrock and boulder reef protrude, rising 15-35m above the surrounding seabed. The reefs themselves support a diverse community of brachiopods, ascidians, hydroids, sponges and fish. The Diphasia alata hydroid community is present at the site. This community is not currently included within the Marine Habitat Classification for Britain and Ireland but is considered rare in the UK. The difference in species composition and abundance between the reefs and the surrounding mud plain highlights the importance of the reefs locally providing a refuge for numerous species. The area of muddy sediment around the rocky reefs supports a major Nephrops norvegicus fishery and a high density of Nephrops burrows has been observed.

Pisces Reef Complex SAC Selection Assessment Document (1,268 KB)

Pisces Reef Complex Draft Conservation Objectives and Advice on Operations (391 KB)

Pisces Reef Complex pSAC boundary