The Sea of the Hebrides ( gd, An Cuan Barrach, ) is a small, partly sheltered section of the
North Atlantic Ocean, indirectly off the southern part of the north-west coast of
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...
. To the east are the mainland of Scotland and the northern
Inner Hebrides (including
Skye and the
Small Isles
The Small Isles ('' gd, Na h-Eileanan Tarsainn'') are a small archipelago of islands in the Inner Hebrides, off the west coast of Scotland. They lie south of Skye and north of Mull and Ardnamurchan – the most westerly point of ma ...
); to the west are the southern
Outer Hebrides islands, principally
South Uist,
Eriskay, and
Barra. To the north is the
Little Minch, a channel connecting it with
the Minch.
The Sea of the Hebrides forms part of the
Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland, as defined by the
International Hydrographic Organization, and part of the
Seas west of Scotland as far as fisheries management is concerned.
Ending on 30 August 2019, the
Scottish Government consulted on a proposal to designate the Sea of the Hebrides a
Marine Protected Area (MPA). The designation was confirmed in December 2020. The designated area of the MPA covers , mainly to protect the area's population of
basking sharks
The basking shark (''Cetorhinus maximus'') is the second-largest living shark and fish, after the whale shark, and one of three plankton-eating shark species, along with the whale shark and megamouth shark. Adults typically reach in length. ...
and
minke whales.
References
External links
Sea of the Hebrides MPA Summary Leaflet- Scottish Government
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sea Of The Hebrides
Scottish coast
Hebrides
Seas of the Atlantic Ocean
European seas
Bodies of water of Scotland
Marine Protected Areas of Scotland