4f4c4942-4343-5764-6473-313234373934 English Natural Resources Wales (NRW) Maes-y-Ffynnon, Penrhosgarnedd, Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 2DW, Wales enquiries@naturalresourceswales.gov.uk http://naturalresources.wales/?lang=en 2026-03-03T12:02:21.088Z NRW 1.0 wel British National Grid (EPSG::27700) Marine Protected Areas in Welsh waters Marine Protected Areas in Welsh waters Ardaloedd Morol Gwarchodedig yn Nyfroedd Cymru Marine protected areas MCZ.lyr Marine protected areas Ramsar.lyr Marine protected areas SAC.lyr Marine protected areas SPA.lyr Marine protected areas SSSI.lyr 2025-06-09 NRW_DS124794 The Marine protected area (MPA) network is a subset of existing protected sites that have marine features. Sites include: SACs, SPAs, Ramsars, SSSIs and MCZs. What features are considered marine is determined through expert groups of SNCBs led by JNCC. The list of MPA network features are hosted by JNCC https://hub.jncc.gov.uk/assets/8ee15786-510b-44e4-819e-e6681a1abd96. The need for a coherent and well managed MPA network is underpinned by the legislation Marine and Coastal access act and MFSD (UK Marine Strategy). This has been driven by our commitment to OSPAR (Oslo Paris convention) and CBD (Convention on biological diversity). NRW are the custodians of MPAs within 12nm (Welsh territorial waters), sites that are found in out offshore waters are hosted by JNCC and can be downloaded from their website https://jncc.gov.uk/mpa-mapper/. The Marine protected area (MPA) network is a subset of existing protected sites that have marine features. Sites include: SACs, SPAs, Ramsars, SSSIs and MCZs. What features are considered marine is determined through expert groups of SNCBs led by JNCC. The list of MPA network features are hosted by JNCC https://hub.jncc.gov.uk/assets/8ee15786-510b-44e4-819e-e6681a1abd96. The need for a coherent and well managed MPA network is underpinned by the legislation Marine and Coastal access act and MFSD (UK Marine Strategy). This has been driven by our commitment to OSPAR (Oslo Paris convention) and CBD (Convention on biological diversity). NRW are the custodians of MPAs within 12nm (Welsh territorial waters), sites that are found in out offshore waters are hosted by JNCC and can be downloaded from their website https://jncc.gov.uk/mpa-mapper/. Mae'r Rhwydwaith Ardaloedd Morol Gwarchodedig yn is-set o safleoedd gwarchodedig presennol sydd â nodweddion morol. Mae'r safleoedd yn cynnwys: Ardaloedd Cadwraeth Arbennig, Ardaloedd Gwarchodaeth Arbennig, safleoedd Ramsar, Safleoedd o Ddiddordeb Gwyddonol Arbennig a Pharthau Cadwraeth Morol. Pennir pa nodweddion sy'n cael eu hystyried yn forol drwy grwpiau arbenigol o Gyrff Cadwraeth Natur Statudol dan arweiniad y Cydbwyllgor Cadwraeth Natur. Caiff rhestr o nodweddion y Rhwydwaith Ardaloedd Morol Gwarchodedig ei chynnal gan y Cydbwyllgor Cadwraeth Natur: https://hub.jncc.gov.uk/assets/8ee15786-510b-44e4-819e-e6681a1abd96. Datganiad priodoli: Yn cynnwys gwybodaeth Cyfoeth Naturiol Cymru – Hawlfraint a Hawl Gronfa Ddata Cyfoeth Naturiol Cymru. Cedwir pob hawl. Yn cynnwys data Arolwg Ordnans. Rhif Trwydded yr Arolwg Ordnans: AC0000849444. Hawlfraint a hawl Gronfa Ddata y Goron. Natural Resources Wales (NRW) Maes-y-Ffynnon, Penrhosgarnedd, Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 2DW, Wales enquiries@naturalresourceswales.gov.uk http://naturalresources.wales/?lang=en Natural Resources Wales (NRW) Maes-y-Ffynnon, Penrhosgarnedd, Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 2DW, Wales enquiries@naturalresourceswales.gov.uk http://naturalresources.wales/?lang=en Natural Resources Wales (NRW) Maes-y-Ffynnon, Penrhosgarnedd, Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 2DW, Wales enquiries@naturalresourceswales.gov.uk http://naturalresources.wales/?lang=en Natural Resources Wales (NRW) Maes-y-Ffynnon, Penrhosgarnedd, Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 2DW, Wales enquiries@naturalresourceswales.gov.uk http://naturalresources.wales/?lang=en Protected sites Habitats and biotopes GEMET - INSPIRE themes, version 1.0 2008-06-01 geonetwork.thesaurus.external.theme.httpinspireeceuropaeutheme-theme Special Protection Areas (SPAs) (see also proposed Special Protection Area pSPA) Natura 2000 (N2K) Ramsar sites SSSI (Sites of Special Scientific Interest) WETLANDS marine conservation zones (mcz) NRW Thesaurus 2025-01-08 geonetwork.thesaurus.local.theme.converted_nrw-keywords Habitat extent Habitat characterisation SeaDataNet Parameter Discovery Vocabulary 2024-06-19 geonetwork.thesaurus.external.theme.rdf+xml Birds IPSV Subjects List 2020-11-18 geonetwork.thesaurus.external.theme.subjects Animals, Plants and Other Organisms (SMNR) Ecosystem (SMNR) Sea and Coast (SMNR) NRW SMNR Keywords 2024-06-26 geonetwork.thesaurus.local.theme.converted_nrw-smnr-keywords There are no access restrictions on this data. NRW may release, publish or disseminate it freely. no limitations © CNC/NRW All rights Reserved. Contains Ordnance Survey Data. Ordnance Survey Licence number AC0000849444. Crown Copyright and Database Right. Data may be re-used under the terms of the Open Government Licence providing it is done so, acknowledging both the source and copyright of the owners. It is the recipient's responsibility to ensure the data is fit for the intended purpose. Contains Natural Resources Wales information © Natural Resources Wales and Database Right. All rights Reserved. Contains Ordnance Survey Data. Ordnance Survey Licence number AC0000849444. Crown Copyright and Database Right. Open Government Licence English biota environment imageryBaseMapsEarthCover geoscientificInformation oceans inlandWaters boundaries Wales (WLS) -5.777741 -2.608865 51.240829 53.513067 SeaVoX Vertical Co-ordinate Coverages 2013-02-05 creation water column 1992-01-01 X:\Designations\NRW Statutory\Marine Protected Areas Natasha Lough. Specialist Advisor Marine Ecology, Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems Group / Natural Resources Planning Geographic Information System unknown ESRI Feature Class https://datamap.gov.wales/layergroups/geonode:nrw_marine_protected_areas_in_welsh_waters WWW:LINK-1.0-http--link View and Download https://datamap.gov.wales/capabilities/layergroup/3601/?ows_service=wms OGC:WMS Web Mapping Service Commission Regulation (EU) No 1089/2010 of 23 November 2010 implementing Directive 2007/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards interoperability of spatial data sets and services 2010-12-08 This dataset has not been assessed for conformance to the referenced INSPIRE regulation. false Information extracted from protected sites (SACs, SPAs, Ramsars, SSSIs and MCZs) to create this data. Information extracted from protected sites (SACs, SPAs, Ramsars, SSSIs and MCZs) to create this data.