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Cardigan Bay is home to an amazingly rich variety of marine animals and plants, the rare and ever playful bottlenose dolphin being just one of them.

Together with the valuable habitats on which they rely, this makes the Bay an outstanding and internationally important marine environment.

In recognition of its importance, parts of the Bay have been selected as Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) - a European designation that will help to ensure that the area and its wildlife are safeguarded for the benefit and enjoyment of future generations.

This website provides information about the wildlife and habitats of the Cardigan Bay Special Area of Conservation, how the site is being managed, and how you can play a vital role in helping us to conserve it for the future.

 2009 sees a major consultation that will help shape the future management of boating activities along the Cardigan Bay coastline. Click here to find out more.

The origins of Special Areas of Conservation (SACs)

The 1992 Rio Earth Summit put biodiversity firmly on the global political agenda. Closer to home the European Communities produced the Habitats Directive (Council Directive 92/43/EEC on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora).

The main aim of the Habitats Directive is to help to conserve the diversity of habitats and species across the European Union. This it aims to deliver through the designation of Special Areas of Conservation (SACs).