The exclusive economic zone of the State is the area beyond and adjacent to the territorial seas subject to the specific legal regime established in Part V of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, done at Montego Bay on 10 December 1982, the text of which, in the English language, is, for convenience of reference, set out in Schedule 2. The outer limit of the exclusive economic zone is the line every point of which lies at a distance of 200 nautical miles from the nearest point of the baseline. In the exclusive economic zone the State has (a) sovereign rights for the purpose of exploring and exploiting, conserving and managing the natural resources, whether living or non-living, of the waters superjacent to the seabed and of the seabed and its subsoil, and with regard to other activities for the economic exploitation and exploration of the zone, such as the production of energy from the water, currents and winds, (b) jurisdiction as provided for in the relevant provisions of the Convention with regard to (i) the establishment and use of artificial islands, installations and structures, (ii) marine scientific research, and (iii) the protection and preservation of the marine environment, and (c) other rights and duties provided for in international law.

The map shows the risk of the topsoil becoming compacted due to the passage of machinery. This map primarily covers the cultivated land in Scotland and provides information on the risk of topsoil compaction.The topsoil compaction risk gives information of the likelihood of the topsoil becoming compacted in 3 classes: High, Moderate or Low. The risk is based on the natural drainage class of the soil and the soil texture.

The exclusive economic zone of the State is the area beyond and adjacent to the territorial seas subject to the specific legal regime established in Part V of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, done at Montego Bay on 10 December 1982, the text of which, in the English language, is, for convenience of reference, set out in Schedule 2. The outer limit of the exclusive economic zone is the line every point of which lies at a distance of 200 nautical miles from the nearest point of the baseline. In the exclusive economic zone the State has (a) sovereign rights for the purpose of exploring and exploiting, conserving and managing the natural resources, whether living or non-living, of the waters superjacent to the seabed and of the seabed and its subsoil, and with regard to other activities for the economic exploitation and exploration of the zone, such as the production of energy from the water, currents and winds, (b) jurisdiction as provided for in the relevant provisions of the Convention with regard to (i) the establishment and use of artificial islands, installations and structures, (ii) marine scientific research, and (iii) the protection and preservation of the marine environment, and (c) other rights and duties provided for in international law.

The twelve nautical mile limit pertains to fisheries and it gives exclusive rights to Irish registered fishing vessels to fish in those waters. Between six and twelve miles some fishing vessels, flying the flags of the U.K., France, Belgium, The Netherlands and Germany, have historical fishing rights.

The EU Birds Directive (79/409/EEC) requires designation of SPAs for: listed rare and vulnerable species; regularly occurring migratory species, such as ducks, geese and waders; wetlands, especially those of international importance, which attract large numbers of migratory birds each year. (Internationally important means that 1% of the population of a species uses the site, or more than 20,000 birds regularly use the site.) This is a national dataset.

The map shows the risk of potential pollutants and nutrients leaching through the soil to ground and surface waters. This map primarily covers the cultivated land in Scotland. The soil leaching potential gives information on the likelihood of a potential pollutant that is applied to the soil surface infiltrating the soil and leaching to a water course or ground water in three main categories (High, Intermediate and Low) with the High class being subdivided into 3 classes while the intermediate class is subdivided into 2 classes. Note: soils over current and restored mineral workings and in urban areas that are often disturbed or absent are assumed to have little ability to retain potential pollutants and so are classified as having a high leaching potential (see Lewis, M.A., Lilly, A and J.S. Bell. 2000. Groundwater vulnerability mapping in Scotland: Modifications to classification used in England and Wales. In: Groundwater in the Celtic Regions: Studies in Hard Rock and Quaternary Hydrogeology. Eds. N.S. Robins and B.D.R. Misstear Geological Society Special Publication No. 182. pp 71-79.).

Ireland amended and replaced its framework legislation for managing sea-fisheries in Natura 2000 sites in 2013. The new framework legislation is the European Union (Birds and Natural Habitats)(Sea-Fisheries) Regulations 2013 (S.I. 290 of 2013). These regulations have been drafted to implement the responsibilities of the Minister for Agriculture Food and the Marine in relation to sea-fisheries in Natura 2000 sites, in accordance with the Habitats and Birds Directives as transposed by the European Communities (Birds and Natural Habitats) Regulations 2011 (S.I. 477 of 2011).

The map shows the vulnerability of subsoils to compaction by traffic. It covers most of Scotland’s cultivated agricultural land area. The subsoil compaction risk gives information on the likelihood of the subsoil becoming compacted due to heavy machinery in four classes (Extremely vulnerable, Very vulnerable, Moderately vulnerable or Not particularly vulnerable) based on the soil texture and the amount of water left in the soil after any excess has drained away (known as field capacity).

The map shows the risk of water flowing overland (runoff) carrying potential pollutants into water courses. This map primarily covers the cultivated land in Scotland. The digital dataset gives information on the likelihood of a potential pollutant applied to the soil surface running off the land to a water course in 3 classes: Low, Moderate or High and is based on fundamental soil characteristics such as depth to a slowly permeable layer, soil porosity and flow pathways through the soil.