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Wyville-Thomson Ridge Special Area of Conservation Monitoring Report 2025

Abstract

The Wyville-Thomson Ridge Special Area of Conservation (SAC), hereafter referred to as ‘WTR’, is part of a network of Scottish Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) designated under the EU Habitats Directive (1992), transposed into UK law by the Conservation of Offshore Marine Habitats and Species Regulations (2017). These Scottish MPAs contribute to an ecologically coherent network of MPAs across the North-east Atlantic, as agreed under the Oslo Paris (OSPAR) Convention and other international commitments to which the UK is a signatory. WTR was formally designated as an SAC by the UK Government in September 2017.

WTR lies to the north-west of mainland Scotland at the northern end of the Rockall Trough, with the closest land approximately 77 km away at Rona, Scotland. This offshore marine protected area protects an area of 1,740 square kilometres and is designated to protect Annex I reef. The ridge is composed of extensive areas of stony reef interspersed with gravel and bedrock reef along the flanks. Variation in oceanographic conditions driven by merging water bodies and the unique ocean floor topography allows for many different communities to exist within WTR. WTR thereby functions as a transitional area between differing water masses and the communities associated with those. Clearly, WTR is a highly varied, unique and biodiverse site.

JNCC and the Scottish Government’s Marine Directorate (previously known as Marine Scotland Science and hereafter referred to as the Marine Directorate) completed surveys 1517S and 1218S in 2017 and 2018 to collect imagery and video data to characterise the benthic communities at the MPA. This monitoring report primarily explores the data acquired from these first two surveys. This data will form the first point in a benthic monitoring time series at WTR.

This report may not be fully accessible for all users. If you need a copy in a different format, please contact Communications@jncc.gov.uk.

Resource type Publication

Topic category Environment

Reference date 2025·09·01

Citation
Voerman, S.E., Boa, E., Rush, S., Gallyot, J., Thomas, K. & McBreen, F. 2025. Wyville-Thomson Ridge Special Area of Conservation Monitoring Report. JNCC/SGMD Partnership Report 4. JNCC, Peterborough, ISSN 2977-1625.

Lineage
The JNCC-SGMD Partnership Report series publishes reports on offshore surveys undertaken by JNCC and Scottish Government’s Marine Directorate [formerly Marine Scotland Science].

Responsible organisation
Communications, JNCC publisher

Limitations on public access No limitations

Use constraints Available under the Open Government Licence 3.0

Metadata date 2025·10·01

Metadata point of contact
Communications, JNCC

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