The Sea of the Hebrides ( gd, An Cuan Barrach, ) is a small, partly sheltered section of the

North Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

, indirectly off the southern part of the north-west coast of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. 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 main ...

); to the west are the southern Outer Hebrides islands, principally

South Uist South Uist ( gd, Uibhist a Deas, ; sco, Sooth Uist) is the second-largest island of the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. At the 2011 census, it had a usually resident population of 1,754: a decrease of 64 since 2001. The island, in common with the ...

Eriskay Eriskay ( gd, Èirisgeigh), from the Old Norse for "Eric's Isle", is an island and community council area of the Outer Hebrides in northern Scotland with a population of 143, as of the 2011 census. It lies between South Uist and Barra and is ...

, and

Barra Barra (; gd, Barraigh or ; sco, Barra) is an island in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland, and the second southernmost inhabited island there, after the adjacent island of Vatersay to which it is connected by a short causeway. The island is name ...

. To the north is the

Little Minch The Minch ( gd, An Cuan Sgitheanach, ', ', '), also called North Minch, is a strait in north-west Scotland, separating the north-west Highlands and the northern Inner Hebrides from Lewis and Harris in the Outer Hebrides. It was known as ("Scot ...

, a channel connecting it with

the Minch The Minch ( gd, An Cuan Sgitheanach, ', ', '), also called North Minch, is a strait in north-west Scotland, separating the north-west Highlands and the northern Inner Hebrides from Lewis and Harris in the Outer Hebrides. It was known as ("Sco ...

. The Sea of the Hebrides forms part of the

Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland The Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland is a marine area designated by the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO). It consists of a number of waterbodies between the Scottish mainland, the Outer Hebrides islands, and the coast of I ...

, as defined by the

International Hydrographic Organization The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) is an intergovernmental organisation representing hydrography. , the IHO comprised 98 Member States. A principal aim of the IHO is to ensure that the world's seas, oceans and navigable waters a ...

, and part of the

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 ...

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 Marine protected areas (MPA) are protected areas of seas, oceans, estuaries or in the US, the Great Lakes. These marine areas can come in many forms ranging from wildlife refuges to research facilities. MPAs restrict human activity for a conse ...

(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 and

minke whales The minke whale (), or lesser rorqual, is a species complex of baleen whale. The two species of minke whale are the common (or northern) minke whale and the Antarctic (or southern) minke whale. The minke whale was first described by the Danish na ...

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