A network of terrestrial SPAs has already been established
in the UK, and some of these existing SPAs have marine
components.
SPAs with
marine components are defined as those sites with qualifying
Birds Directive Annex I species or regularly occurring migratory
species that are dependent on the marine environment for all or
part of their lifecycle, where these species are found in
association with intertidal or subtidal habitats*. In this
context 119
bird species make significant use of the marine
environment around the UK (and Gibraltar).
To date 73 SPAs with marine
components have been designated in the UK. This
includes Bae Caerfyrddin/Carmarthen Bay SPA (Wales), the only
entirely marine SPA, which was classified in 2003 for its
non-breeding aggregations of common scoter.
Marine interest features of SPAs with
marine components
GIS
boundary data for SPAs with marine components
(last updated November 2008)
*The following SPA
habitat classes are considered marine as they are covered
(continuously or intermittently) by the sea: N01 Marine areas and
Sea inlets; N02 Tidal rivers, Estuaries, Mud flats, Sand flats
and Lagoons (including saltwork basins); N03 Salt marshes,
Salt pastures and Salt steppes
Seabird Colony SPAs
Some coastal SPAs comprising 'N05 Shingle, Islets or Sea cliff
habitats' contain qualifying Birds Directive Annex I species or
regularly occurring migratory species that are dependent on the
marine environment. Many of these coastal SPAs do not, at present,
include significant intertidal or subtidal areas and therefore are
not considered to be ‘SPAs with marine components’.
Contingent on Government policy, these SPAs may be extended
seawards to encompass marine areas in the future. See Marine extensions to existing
seabird breeding colony SPAs for more details. For
example, on 25 September 2009 Scottish Government announced that
31 of Scotland’s seabird breeding colony Special Protection
Areas (SPAs) were to be extended to protect their adjacent
marine habitats.