Europe’s largest marine protected area (MPA), the West of Scotland MPA, has been proposed for an area of deep sea off the Western Isles.
The Scottish government has started a public consultation on the plan, which involves an area of 41,611 sq miles (107,773 sq km).
Cold water coral reefs and deep sea sharks are among the wildlife found at depths of 2,400m (7,874ft).
The proposed West of Scotland MPA would also offer protection to habitats on seamounts, which are extinct volcanoes.
The Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC), whose scientists have been among those to survey the habitats, said it would be Europe’s largest MPA. The designation would aim to protect the habitats involved from marine industry projects and some types of fishing.
Three telecommunications cables cross the site and under MPA rules, the operators would be asked to take measures to minimise potential harm caused by maintenance work on the cables.
Oil and gas exploration has taken place in the area west of the Western Isles, and further activity may require “additional mitigation measures on a case-by-case basis to achieve conservation objectives”.
Fishing activity already has a range of measures in place, according to the public consultation document, however, the JNCC has advised extending restrictions across the whole site on deep sea trawling.
This article was originally published as Europe’s largest marine protected area proposed at BBC on 27/09/2019.