Protected Sites: Demonstration and Research Marine Protected Areas in Scotland

Demonstration and Research Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are designated by Scottish Ministers under the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010. Sites can be established for demonstrating or researching sustainable marine management or exploitation in Scottish territorial waters. The data is aggregated from the eu_open_data platform by the Government Digital Service.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the spatial distribution of designated research sites based on the marine management purpose.
• Modeling the relationship between MPA designation and sustainable exploitation activities mentioned in the description.
• Assessing the scientific case and stakeholder support levels for MPAs as referenced in the proposal guidelines.

Strengths

• Data is established under a specific legislative framework, the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010.
• Sites have a defined purpose for demonstration or research on sustainable marine management.
• Proposals are assessed according to a set of specific guidelines examining scientific case and support.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.

Provenance

Source

Government Digital Service

Collection Method

Designated by Scottish Ministers under the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010.

Time Range

unknown

Freshness

unknown

Geography

Scottish territorial waters