Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)

The designation of MPA is awarded to marine locations containing flora, fauna, habitat, or historical artifacts of importance (Marine Conservation Society, n.d.). It is an overarching classification that can be applied to other designations like SSSIs, SPAs and SACs (Marine Scotland Assessment, 2020). With this designation comes restrictions on activities in the area. For example, many MPAs have bans on bottom trawling, and their rules on pollution and developments are often more strict (Marine Conservation Society, n.d.).

MPAs may be found inshore or offshore, and as of 2020, 217 MPAs in total could be found around Scotland (Marine Scotland Assessment, 2020; Marine Conservation Society, n.d.). One example that extends to the East Grampian Coastline is the Rosehearty to Fraserburgh Coast Mudflat MPA (Scottish Government, 2011).