Seas west of Scotland

It is a central tenet of the EU maritime policy (Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries) that all seas have a particular nature, defined by their geography, their ecology, their economies and their people. Most seas are nested (e.g. Atlantic Ocean, Irish Sea, Morecambe Bay) and do not, except for specific purposes such as hydrography or fisheries management, have sharp, recognised boundaries. One important sea for purposes of fisheries management is referred to as the "seas West of Scotland". In line with the EU maritime policy, the sea does not only encompass the waters but also the people and economy of the areas bordering that sea.

The entirety of the area has no specific name. It encompasses several marginal seas including the Malin Sea, the Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland, and the North Channel. It can be considered largely as ICES area VIa whose easternmost boundary is nearly halfway between Cape Wrath and the Pentland Firth and whose southern extent to the west is in Donegal Bay. The border with the Irish Sea is at the level of Stranraer. The countries bordering these waters are Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland. As far as the EU's Marine Framework Strategy Directive is concerned the sea is part of the Celtic Seas. These should not to be confused with the Celtic Sea which is further south.

The UK's new Marine and Coastal Access Act will have limited direct influence on the waters west of Scotland because they are under the jurisdiction of the devolved administrations of Scotland and Northern Ireland (The Scottish Executive introduced a Bill to their Parliament in April 2009 and one should be introduced to the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2012. However the Scottish and Northern Ireland governments are collaborating on a "marine policy statement" which is the first stage in marine planning. The objective is to complete all the consultations in time to have a Statement in place by November 2011.

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