Weymouth, Dorset to the main town centre. There are 11 Sites of Special Scientific Interest in the borough, which cover an area of , and there are 37 other Nature Conservation Designations. Situated approximately halfway along the Jurassic Coast, Weymouth is a gateway town to the UNESCO World Heritage Site, which includes of the Dorset and east Devon coast that is important for its geology and landforms. The South West Coast Path has two routes around Weymouth and Portland—one around its coast, and one along the South Dorset Downs, which reduces the path's length by . The path is the United Kingdom's
UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage sites have now disappeared without any trace. Due to the sheer mass of the world's oceans and the inability to monitor all activity that takes place therein, pirates and underwater thieves continue to pose a significant threat to the preservation of cultural heritage and cultural property. In 2006, the UNESCO convention was ratified by an additional state, Portugal, needing international protection for the looting of its underwater cultural heritage sites. At least six international treasure hunting organizations had established themselves off the coasts of Portugal to reap the benefits of the nation's coastline after new legislation had allowed for the