Puffin Non-Breeding Season Density Surfaces in UK Waters

Krigged density surfaces for puffins in UK waters during the non-breeding season. The dataset was created by modelling ESAS data to identify regular areas of high seabird density on a 6km by 6km grid. Joint Nature Conservation Committee produced this spatial data, last updated in April 2026.

Use Cases

• Identify potential Marine Special Protection Areas based on relative high-density patterns.
• Model seabird habitat use in offshore environments based on krigged density surfaces.
• Analyze spatial overlap between puffin distributions and human activities like fisheries.
• Support environmental impact assessments for offshore developments using standardized density grids.

Strengths

• Spatial data is modeled on a standardized 6km by 6km grid for consistent analysis.
• Density surfaces are derived from ESAS (European Seabirds at Sea) survey data.
• Dataset is associated with a specific, cited scientific report (JNCC Report 431).

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and file size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect geographic and temporal bias inherent to the underlying ESAS survey.

Provenance

Source

Joint Nature Conservation Committee

Collection Method

Kriging interpolation of ESAS (European Seabirds at Sea) survey data.

Time Range

Non-breeding season (specific years not stated).

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-14 09:45:16.443233; freshness should be verified.

Geography

UK waters (within the British Fishery Limit).