Orkney battle site could be protected

ONE hundred years on from the scuttling of the German High Seas Fleet at Scapa Flow on Orkney, a consultation has been launched seeking views from the public on the designation of the site as a Historic Marine Protected Area.

The consultation was announced yesterday in Glasgow by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, at Scotland’s International Marine Conference.

Marine Scotland, which hosted the conference, has recommended that Scapa Flow be protected because of its wartime history.

Orkney has a number of collections of First and Second World War naval wreckage remains, both above and underwater.

Since 2001, the remains of three battleships and four cruisers of the German High Seas Fleet scuttled in Scapa Flow in 1919 have been protected as scheduled monuments.

Designating Scapa Flow as a Marine Protected Area will make conservation of the area much easier, Marine Scotland said.

Ms Sturgeon said: “Marine protected areas are an undoubted success story.

“In the last seven years the network has doubled and they now account for more than a fifth of Scotland’s seas.”

“It is important we conserve sites of historic interest and the public are able to have a say on how we do this.

“Scapa Flow is clearly a very important part of Scotland’s maritime history, particularly during the world wars.

“As we move towards the 2020 Year of Coasts and Waters, it is right that appropriate steps are taken to ensure this wartime heritage is preserved in a way that we can enjoy, remember and understand it responsibly.”