These grid data were derived from National Parks and Wildlife Service cetacean surveys within the Irish MSFD area and the EEA-10km GRID. The grid shows the current distribution of Harbour seal (Phoca vitulina) and Grey seal (Halichoreus grypus) in Irish coastal and marine waters. The data were collected for the purposes of 2019 reporting under Article 17 of the EU Habitats Directive.

These grid data were derived from National Parks and Wildlife Service cetacean surveys within the Irish MSFD area and the EEA-10km GRID. The grid shows the current distribution of Harbour seal (Phoca vitulina) in Irish coastal and marine waters. The data were collected for the purposes of 2019 reporting under Article 17 of the EU Habitats Directive.

<p>This dataset includes the data used in in the HELCOM/OSPAR Ballast Water Exemptions Decision Support Tool. This tool was developed in 2013 based on the overall IMO framework, the 21 Baltic and North-East Atlantic coastal states and the EU. It allows user to define 'low risk' routes, as well as other necessary steps in granting exemptions under regulation A-4 of the IMO Ballast Water Management Convention (BWM</p>

Gridded abundance product representing chlorophyll-a values in the Dutch North Sea from 1976 till 2014. Chlorophyll –a can be interpreted as a proxy for phytoplankton. The resulting values vary seasonally. The winter concentrations are lower because low light and temperature are not optimal for phytoplankton growth. In spring we observe the highest concentrations occurring in near coastal waters where nutrients from rivers are most abundant. Phytoplankton organisms are responsible for about 45% of annual global photosynthesis. They are as such vital for the functioning of marine food webs (considered in MSFD descriptor 4) and are the main drivers of the global biogeochemical cycles. This product was developed with DIVA (Data-Interpolating Variational Analysis) and the scale is log-transformed abundance (in µg per liter). Data was provided by Rijkswaterstaat (RWS).

Gridded abundance maps representing diatoms and dinoflagellates in the North Atlantic and North Sea between 1958 and 2012. Phytoplankton organisms are responsible for about 45% of annual global photosynthesis. They are as such vital for the functioning of marine food webs (considered in MSFD descriptor 4) and are the main drivers of the global biogeochemical cycles. This product was developed with DIVA (Data-Interpolating Variational Analysis) and the scale represents log-transformed abundance. Data was provided by SAHFOS (Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) data (phytoplankton) from the Sir Alister Hardy Foundation for Ocean Science (SAHFOS)).

Gridded abundance maps of commercial fish species. This product was developed with DIVA (Data-Interpolating Variational Analysis). Data was provided by ICES (IBTS dataset - Fish trawl survey: ICES North Sea International Bottom Trawl Survey for commercial fish species. ICES Database of trawl surveys (DATRAS). The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, Copenhagen. 2010. Online source: http://ecosystemdata.ices.dk.). The maps show clearly the dramatic stock depletion of the last decades in the North Sea. Scale: log-transformed CPUE.

These products are a series of gridded abundance maps of microorganisms in the North Sea from 2007-2008 at four different depth ranges. Micro-organisms are vital for the functioning of marine food webs (considered in MSFD descriptor 4) and are the main drivers of the global biogeochemical cycles. This product was developed with DIVA (Data-Interpolating Variational Analysis). Data was provided by NIOZ (C. Brussaard - Brandsma, J.; Martínez Martínez, J.; Slagter, H.A.; Evans, C.; Brussaard, C.P.D. (2013). Microbial biogeography of the North Sea during summer. Biogeochemistry 113(1-3): 119-136. dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10533-012-9783-3 ).

Gridded abundance maps of seal species. This product was developed with DIVA (Data-Interpolating Variational Analysis). Data was provided by JNCC (Joint Nature Conservation Committee): Dunn, T. 2012. JNCC seabird distribution and abundance data (all trips) from ESAS database. Data downloaded from OBIS-SEAMAP (http://seamap.env.duke.edu/dataset/427).

Gridded abundance maps representing Dinophysis species, phytoplankton taxon richness and algal toxicity along the French coast. This product was developed with DIVA (Data-Interpolating Variational Analysis). Data was provided by IFREMER (REPHY - réseau de surveillance du phytoplancton. Institut Français pour la Recherche et l'exploitation de la mer, Nantes, France.).

Gridded abundance maps of marine mammals (sperm whale, short beaked common dolphin, common bottlenose dolphin, Atllantic spotted dolphin) around the Azores. This product was developed with DIVA (Data-Interpolating Variational Analysis). Data was provided by the Azores Fisheries Observation Programme (POPA).