The Firth of Clyde is the mouth of the River Clyde and the deepest coastal waters in the British Isles, sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by the Kintyre peninsula which encloses the outer firth in Argyll and Ayrshire. The Kilbrannan Sound is a large arm of the Firth of Clyde, separating the Kintyre Peninsula from the Isle of Arran. Within the Firth of Clyde is another major island – the Isle of Bute. Given its strategic location, at the entrance to the middle/upper Clyde, Bute played a vitally important military (naval) role during World War II.
The Firth of Forth is the estuary (firth) of several Scottish rivers including the River Forth. It meets the North Sea with Fife on the north coast and Lothian on the south.
Loch Creran is a sea loch in Argyll, on the west coast of Scotland. It is about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) long from its head at Invercreran to its mouth on the Lynn of Lorne, part of Loch Linnhe. The loch separates the areas of Benderloch to the south and Appin to the north. The island of Eriska lies at the mouth of the loch. The loch is bridged at its narrowest point at Creagan, by the A828 road. The village of Barcaldine lies on the south shore of the loch.
Loch Sunart is a sea loch on the west coast of Scotland. Loch Sunart is bounded to the north by the Sunart district of Ardnamurchan and to the south by the Morvern district. At 31 kilometres (19 mi) it is the longest sea loch in the Highland local government area. The maximum depth of the loch is 124 metres east of Càrna near the entrance to Loch Teacuis. Other islands in the loch include Oronsay, seaward of Càrna, Risga, which lies between the two larger islands, and Eilean Mòr, which lies towards the landward end of the loch in line with Beinn Resipol.
A Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ) is a type of marine nature reserve in UK waters. They were established under the Marine and Coastal Access Act (2009) and are areas designated with the aim to protect nationally important, rare or threatened habitats and species. Approximately 20% of UK waters now have some protection although some conservation, fisherman and wildlife groups are concerned that there are no management plans for each zone.
The De Hoop Marine Protected Area lies between Arniston and the mouth of the Breede River on the south coast of South Africa adjacent to the De Hoop Nature Reserve. The MPA is 51 kilometres long, and extends 5 nautical miles to sea. The whole MPA is a restricted area and is part of the migratory route and calving area for Southern right whales. The area protects habitats for several economically important inshore reef fish species, and ensures the retention of marine biomass in this part of the coast. The limestone coastline is includes archaeological sites and middens that date back centuries. The MPA is close to the Breede River estuary and, provides protection for species like cob that breed in the estuary and then return to the ocean.
The Helderberg Marine Protected Area is a small marine conservation area on the north-eastern side of False Bay in the Western Cape province of South Africa, It lies between the mouths of the Lourens River in the Strand, and the Eerste River in Macassar.
The Tstsikamma Marine Protected Area is a marine protected area on the south coast of South Africa, in both the Western Cape and Eastern Cape. It is on the coast of the Tsitsikamma National Park, and is one of the oldest MPAs in the country. The MPA provides protection for marine habitat and wildlife, including birds and threatened and endangered fish species.
The Agulhas Bank Complex Marine Protected Area is an offshore marine protected area on the continental shelf lying approximately 39 nautical miles southeast of Cape Agulhas off the Western Cape in the Exclusive Economic Zone of South Africa.
The Goukamma Marine Protected Area is an inshore conservation region near Knysna in the territorial waters of South Africa
The Amathole Offshore Marine Protected Area is an offshore conservation region in the territorial waters of South Africa
The Childs Bank Marine Protected Area is an offshore conservation region in the exclusive economic zone of South Africa
The Browns Bank Complex Marine Protected Area is an offshore conservation region in the exclusive economic zone of South Africa
The Pondoland Marine Protected Area is an inshore conservation region in the territorial waters of South Africa
The Stilbaai Marine Protected Area is an inshore conservation region in the territorial waters near Stilbaai on the south coast of the Western Cape province of South Africa.
The Sardinia Bay Marine Protected Area is an inshore conservation region in the territorial waters of South Africa
In Scotland, Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are areas of sea defined so as to protect to habitats, wildlife, geology, undersea landforms, historic shipwrecks, and to demonstrate sustainable management of the sea. As of December 2018, approximately 22% of Scotland's seas were covered by the Scottish MPA network.
The Faroe-Shetland Channel is stretch of the North Atlantic lying between the two island groups of Shetland and the Faroe Islands. The channel is a rift basin that separates the Scottish and the Faroese continental shelves, and has a maximum depth of 1900 m, compared to the surrounding seabed which mostly lies at 200 m. It was first noted by Charles Wyville Thomson during the mid-nineteenth century.
The Norwegian Boundary Sediment Plain is a Marine Protected Area (MPA) lying to the northeast of Scotland. The MPA, which covers 164 km2 (63 sq mi), lies at the very edge of Scottish offshore waters, close to the maritime boundary with Norway. The seabed of the sediment plain consists of sand and gravel habitats, and lies at a depth of between 80 and 120 metres below sea level. The sea bed supports creatures such as starfish, crabs and ocean quahogs. The latter, which are large and slow growing clams, have a lifespan of more than 400 years and are thus considered to be amongst the oldest living animals on Earth.
The Turbot Bank is a shelf bank and mound feature of the seabed of the North Sea that lies off the east coast of Scotland, about 44 kilometres (27 mi) east of Peterhead. The depth of water above the bank varies from 60 m below sea level on top of the bank down to 80 m at its margins. It has been designated as a Nature Conservation Marine Protected Area since 2014.
