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Special Areas of Conservation

Stanton Banks

Designated Special Area of Conservation (SAC)
Country UK Offshore waters
Unitary Authority Extra-Regio
Centroid* NL324223
Latitude 56.2347
Longitude -7.9078
SAC EU Code UK0030359
Status Designated Special Area of Conservation (SAC)
Area (ha) 81727
* 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.
Location of Stanton Banks SAC

General site character

  • Marine areas, Sea inlets (100%)

Download the Standard Data Form for this site (PDF <100kb)

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

  • 1170 Reefs

    Stanton Banks are a series of granite rises which outcrop from the seafloor south of the Outer Hebrides. Although rounded by glacial action, they remain deeply fissured and extremely rugged (Stewart and Long, 2006). The inter-connecting gullies are filled with rippled coarse shell sand. The tops of the banks are smooth and characteristically colonised by encrusting red algae and small encrusting sponges. On the slopes, where the rock is less smooth, featherstars, dead man’s fingers and hydroids are abundant (Service & Mitchell, 2004). At their edges, the banks are fringed with boulders and cobbles.

     

    The Stanton Banks are located in the Scottish Continental Shelf Regional Sea (JNCC, 2004a; Defra 2004), and lie approximately 124km west of the UK mainland, 43km WSW of Tiree and 83km NNE of Malin Head (Ireland). The rocky outcrops rise from the seabed at 190m to approximately 62m from the sea surface encompassing a vertical rise of approximately 130m.

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

  • Not Applicable

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

  • Not Applicable

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

  • Not Applicable

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