The Scottish Government is consulting on the creation of a Deep Sea Marine Reserve in the Rockall Trough off the West Coast of Scotland. If taken forward to designation, the site would be underpinned by the powers in the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009. This means in legal terms it would have the same status as the other existing Marine Protected Areas in offshore waters. The Rockall Trough, if designated would help meet our international commitments to protect the marine environment in the North-East Atlantic, as required under the OSPAR Convention.

Point data identifying the location of finfish or shellfish farms around Scotland from the Fish Health Inspectorate Aquadat database. This includes fishery sites which are ponds or other installation where farmed fish are stocked for recreational fishing (either private or commercial). The data includes the three categories: Active: is the status of a site that is stocked or fallow with the intention of restocking in the foreseeable future. Inactive: is the status of a site that is unlikely to be stocked in the foreseeable future. Deregistered: is the status applied to a site that is no longer used for the purpose of fish or shellfish production; the lease has been surrendered.

Salmon Fishery Statistical Region boundaries, used by Scottish Government Marine Scotland for reporting annual statistics obtained from salmon catch returns made by the owners/occupiers/agents of salmon fisheries.(Salmon Fishery Statistical Districts amalgamated into Regions)

Management Areas were established in the Final Report of the Joint Government/Industry Working Group on Infectious Salmon Anaemia in January 2000, based on tidal excursions around active farms. Farms with overlapping tidal excursions will usually be within the same management area. Recommendations include that all sites within the same management area follow an acceptable stocking strategy (see figure 10.1 in Code of Practice) such that fallowing within a management area is synchronised. Fish farmers are encouraged to look carefully at the areas before stocking sites. New sites that would have no effect on management areas or are in management areas of their own pose less of a risk to the spread of disease than those which bridge management areas. Stocking a previously unused site that may bridge management areas should be avoided. Fish Farmers should consider not restocking a site if it would create a "fire break" and split one of the larger management areas into two smaller areas. The Management Area Maps will be updated when a change in site use leads to a significant change a management area but if you require a map showing the effect of stocking or inactivating a specific site please contact the Duty Inspector at the Fish Health Inspectorate (FHI)

The annual Scottish Sea Fisheries Statistics report is aggregated into districts, which reflect the area of responsibility of the local fishery office. This dataset shows the approximate extent of each district using the 1:50,000 scale OS Meridian 2 mean high water spring coastline. The districts are for illustrative purposes only.\\n\\nThe districts were updated in the 2013 report to reflect changes in responsibility of the Ullapool fishery office and renamed the Pittenweem district as Anstruther.

Regional Inshore Fisheries Groups (RIFGs) are bodies that aim to improve the management of Scotland's inshore fisheries (out to six nautical miles) and to give commercial inshore fishermen a strong voice in wider marine management developments. Originally six pilot IFGs were established in 2009 (covering the Outer Hebrides, the Clyde, the south east of Scotland, the north west, small isles and Mull, and Moray Firth) and each developed an inshore fisheries management plan for its area. This was followed in 2013 by six Inshore Fisheries Groups (IFGs) covering all of the Scottish coast (except Shetland which has its own management arrangements). The West Coast and North & East Coast RIFGs were established in April 2016 and replace the four IFGs that formerly covered the Scottish mainland coast. This layer shows the RIFG network, which includes the West Coast, North & East Coast and Outer Hebrides RIFGs, along with the Orkney Management Group and Shetland Shellfish Management Organisation.

Fisheries which returned coastal fixed engine or net and coble catches of salmon or sea trout to Marine Scotland Science from 2011 onwards. Fishery locations are repeated for each year that the fishery was active, i.e. reported catch data. More information on the Scottish Government salmon and sea trout fishery statistics is provided at http://www.gov.scot/Topics/marine/Publications/stats/SalmonSeaTroutCatches

Salmon Rivers in Scotland (2008) digital data produced by Scottish Government Marine Scotland Science with information from Fisheries Trusts and other sources.

Grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) are present around the coast of Scotland in internationally import numbers. They breed on wave-exposed rocky coasts, sometimes on sand or shingle beaches at the foot of cliffs, often on relatively remote islands, with large groups of pregnant females returning to traditional breeding sites in the autumn. This data shows the breeding colonies currently listed with the Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU).

Onshore oil and gas licensing powers were devolved to Scottish Ministers on 9 February 2018. Onshore includes the marine area within territorial baselines. These datasets show onshore hydrocarbon fields, wells, and licensed blocks.