Special Protection Areas (SPAs) with marine components
Special Protection Areas (SPAs) are areas on land or at sea which protect vulnerable bird species in the UK. They form part of the UK's national site network and the UK's contribution to the OSPAR Commission's network of MPAs.
In the UK, the suite of SPAs on land is well established, however, at sea the work to set up ‘SPAs with marine components’ is still ongoing. While there are already many SPAs in inshore waters, including, for example, some seabird colony SPAs with seaward extensions, only a few stretch into offshore waters beyond the territorial sea limit (see the list of SPAs with marine components).
SPAs with ‘marine components’ protect bird species listed in the Birds Directive (2009/147/EC) as Annex I or as regularly occurring migratory species, that are dependent on the marine environment for all or part of their life-cycle, where these species are found in association with intertidal or subtidal habitats within the site. Sixty bird species are currently protected in UK SPAs with marine components. There are currently 125 SPAs with marine components in UK waters, protecting internationally important estuaries, stretches of coastline and areas of open sea. SPAs with marine components are displayed on the MPA mapper and a list of these sites, their qualifying bird species and site boundaries are available on JNCC's Resource Hub.
JNCC's role
JNCC is responsible for identifying and recommending SPAs in the UK offshore marine area where they would be protected by The Conservation of Offshore Marine Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 (as amended), other regulations apply in inshore waters.
Of the 125 SPAs with marine components in the UK, eight fall wholly or partly in UK offshore waters. An overview of these SPAs is provided in the table below, with links to further information on individual sites and their protected features.
| SPA | Protected species |
| Skomer, Skokholm and the Seas off Pembrokeshire/ Sgomer, Sgogwm a Moroedd Penfro SPA |
European storm petrel Hydrobates pelagicus Red-billed chough Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax Short-eared owl Asio flammeus Manx shearwater Puffinus puffinus Atlantic puffin Fratercula arctica Lesser black-backed gull Larus fuscus Seabird assemblage |
| Outer Thames Estuary SPA |
Red-throated diver Gavia stellata Common tern Sterna hirundo Little tern Sternula albifrons |
| Liverpool Bay / Bae Lerpwl SPA |
Red-throated diver Gavia stellata Little gull Hydrocoloeus minutus Common scoter Melanitta nigra Little tern Sternula albifrons Common tern Sterna hirundo Waterbird assemblage |
| Irish Sea Front SPA | Manx shearwater Puffinus puffinus |
| Greater Wash SPA |
Red-throated diver Gavia stellata Little gull Hydrocoloeus minutus Common scoter Melanitta nigra Sandwich tern Sterna sandvicencis Little tern Sternula albifrons Common tern Sterna hirundo |
| Seas off Foula SPA |
Great skua Stercorarius skua Northern fulmar Fulmarus glacialis Arctic skua Stercorarius parasiticus Common guillemot Uria aalge Atlantic puffin Fratercula arctica |
| Seas off St Kilda SPA |
Northern gannet Morus bassanus European storm-petrel Hydrobates pelagicus northern fulmar Fulmarus glacialis common guillemot Uria aalge Atlantic puffin Fratercula arctica |
| Outer Firth of Forth and St Andrews Bay Complex SPA |
Red-throated diver Gavia stellata Little gull Hydrocoloeus minutus Common tern Sterna hirundo Arctic tern Sterna paradisaea Slavonian grebe Podiceps auritus Common eider Somateria mollissima mollissima Long-tailed duck Clangula hyemalis Common scoter Melanitta nigra Velvet scoter Melanitta fusca Common goldeneye Bucephala clangula Red-breasted merganser Mergus serrator Northern gannet Morus bassanus Manx shearwater Puffinus puffinus European shag Phalacrocorax aristotelis Black-legged kittiwake Rissa tridactyla Common guillemot Uria aalge Razorbill Alca torda Atlantic puffin Fratercula arctica Black-headed gull Chroicocephalus ridibundus Common gull Larus canus Herring gull Larus argentatus |
Site Selection and Classification process
To find important areas which could be considered to become SPAs in UK waters, JNCC and the country nature conservation bodies (CNCBs) follow a clear site selection process. Of all marine areas considered in this process, only those meeting the UK SPA Site Selection guidelines can become SPAs. Once an area has been identified following this process and meeting the guidelines, JNCC and the other CNCBs recommend to government that it should become an SPA. While government considers this step, the area is called a potential/proposed SPA (pSPA) and the site is provisionally afforded protection until a final decision is made. If the government decides to follow the recommendation and to classify the area, it will become an SPA and protection will continue to be in place.
Management
Management within SPAs seeks to avoid adverse effects on the protected birds from human activities. All activities within the site, or outside the site, should be managed in such a way as to minimise disturbance and death of the protected birds, or of the habitat and food organisms which are important for them.
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