Advising Others
Locational Guidance for Aquaculture
Natural Heritage interest |
Qualifying features |
Sensitivity |
| Natura 2000 sites: Special Areas for Conservation (SACs) and Special Protection Areas (SPAs) | Natura sites (1) designated for habitats and species which could be sensitive to aquaculture:
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SPAs and SACs form a network of protected areas designated under the Habitats Directive and Birds Directives. The Conservation (Natural Habitats &c.) Regulations 1994 require that where an authority concludes that a development proposal is likely to have a significant effect on a European site (even if the development is outwith the site), it must undertake an appropriate assessment of the implications for the conservation interests for which the area has been designated (3). For example, salmon cultivation beyond the mouth of cSACs with salmon and pearl mussel qualifying interests is likely to require an appropriate assessment of the likelihood of a significant effect upon them. |
| landscape | National Scenic Areas | NSAs identify areas where Scotland’s scenery is of exceptional attractiveness, and where the need to safeguard the existing character and scenic qualities of the landscape assume a high priority. NSAs are a component of the key resource for tourism and thus form the basis for many local economies. Development within these areas should not compromise the objectives of the designation or the overall integrity of the area. |
| Non-Natura biodiversity | Marine Consultation Areas, and other habitats and species identified in the Biodiversity Action Plan and known to be sensitive to aquaculture (maerl, Modiolus, sea fan anemone, seagrass, Limaria, serpulid reefs). | Marine Consultation Areas, although not statutorily designated,
are of particular distinction in respect of the quality and sensitivity
of their marine environment and where the scientific information available
substantiates their nature conservation importance. Other sites identify where species and habitats have been recorded which are known to be sensitive to aquaculture and which are listed in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan. The precise distribution of these features is not certain: development close to mapped sites may also be sensitive. |
(1) Names and qualifying interests of mapped Natura sites are shown in a spreadsheet on the SNH website
(2) Otter is also a European Protected Species. Developers should refer to Scottish Executive interim guidance ‘European Protected Species, Development Sites and the Planning system. October 2001’
(3) For more detail see Scottish Office Circular 6/95 as updated June 2000.