South-West Deeps (West) MPA
Area1,824 km2 (704 sq mi)
Max. elevation200 metres (660 ft)
Min. elevation100 metres (330 ft)
DesignationMarine Conservation Zone
Designated21 November 2013
Governing bodyMarine Management Organisation (MMO)

South-West Deeps (West) MPA, along with the South West Deeps (East) MPA is an offshore Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ), approximately 230 km (140 mi) off Land's End, Cornwall, England, in the Western Channel and Celtic Sea. It was one of twenty-seven MCZs designated on 21 November 2013 by the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 and is a predominantly sandy area of the continental shelf, supporting molluscs and crustaceans living in and on the mixed and coarse sediments.

Protected features

Subtidal course sediment, subtidal sand, subtidal mud (40.31 km2 [15.56 sq mi]) and subtidal mixed sediments are broad-scale habitats which are protected in the MCZ, along with the geologically important Celtic Sea Relict Sandbanks. Some of the ridges are up to 200 km (120 mi) long, 15 km (9.3 mi) wide and 50 metres (160 ft) high.[1] The fan mussel (Atrina fragilis) is protected as a Species Feature of Conservation Interest and is found in only one other UK site, Small Isles (Scotland) MPA.[2]

References

  1. ↑ "South-West Deeps (West) MPA". JNCC. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
  2. ↑ Stirling, David A; Boulcott, Philip; Bidault, Mathias; Gharbi, Karim; Scott, Beth E; Wright, Peter J (2018-08-01). "Identifying the larva of the fan mussel, Atrina fragilis (Pennant, 1777) (Pinnidae)". Journal of Molluscan Studies. 84 (3): 247–258. doi:10.1093/mollus/eyy015. hdl:2164/12291. ISSN 0260-1230.


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