and Loch Fleet Special Protection Area (SPA) was established for wildlife conservation. The SPA covers of Loch Fleet, the Dornoch Firth, Morrich More, the Mound Alderwoods and Tarbat Ness, and was also listed as a Ramsar site the same year. The Joint Nature Conservation Committee described it as "one of the best examples in northwest Europe of a large complex estuary which has been relatively unaffected by industrial development". Loch Fleet was made a national nature reserve (NNR) in 1998: the NNR is classified as a Category IV protected area by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. References Citations Bibliography External links Photographs of Loch Fleet Special Protection Areas in Scotland Sea lochs of Scotland National nature reserves in Scotland Lochs of Highland (council area) Ramsar sites in Scotland Sites of Special Scientific Interest in South East Sutherland Protected areas of Highland (council area)