River Tay

Designated Special Area of Conservation (SAC)

Country	Scotland
Unitary Authority	Eastern Scotland, Highlands and Islands
Centroid^*	NN818481
Latitude	56.56666667
Longitude	-4.083333333
SAC EU Code	UK0030312
Status	Designated Special Area of Conservation (SAC)
Area (ha)	9461.63
* This is the approximate central point of the SAC. In the case of large, linear or composite sites, this may not represent the location where a feature occurs within the SAC.

General site character

Shingle, Sea cliffs, Islets (0.5%)
Inland water bodies (Standing water, Running water) (95%)
Bogs, Marshes, Water fringed vegetation, Fens (4.5%)

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Note When undertaking an appropriate assessment of impacts at a site, all features of European importance (both primary and non-primary) need to be considered.

Annex I habitats that are a primary reason for selection of this site

Not Applicable

Annex I habitats present as a qualifying feature, but not a primary reason for selection of this site

3130 Oligotrophic to mesotrophic standing waters with vegetation of the Littorelletea uniflorae and/or of the Isoëto-Nanojuncetea

Annex II species that are a primary reason for selection of this site

1106 Atlantic salmon Salmo salar

The River Tay supports a high-quality Atlantic salmon Salmo salar population, with rod catch returns showing that the Tay is consistently one of the top three salmon rivers in Scotland. In 1999 the catch was 7230 fish, over 10% of the Scottish total. The Tay drains a very large catchment, and has the greatest flow of all UK rivers. There is considerable ecological variety in the Tay catchment, resulting in the Tay supporting the full range of salmon life-history types found in Scotland, with adult salmon entering the River Tay throughout the year to spawn in different parts of the catchment.

Annex II species present as a qualifying feature, but not a primary reason for site selection

1095 Sea lamprey Petromyzon marinus
1096 Brook lamprey Lampetra planeri
1099 River lamprey Lampetra fluviatilis
1355 Otter Lutra lutra

Many designated sites are on private land: the listing of a site in these pages does not imply any right of public access.