GeMS: Scottish Priority Marine Features and MPA Selection Data

Geospatial layers for marine habitats and species adjacent to Scotland, used to underpin the selection of Nature Conservation Marine Protected Areas (NC MPAs). The data was collated by SNH, JNCC, and Marine Scotland from targeted surveys, industry work, and volunteer records, with information varying from recent to much older. These layers update and build upon mapping presented in the 2011 publication 'Scotland's Marine Atlas'.

Use Cases

• Identifying potential sites for Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) based on Priority Marine Features (PMF) data.
• Analyzing the distribution of large-scale features of functional significance for marine conservation planning.
• Mapping habitats and species relevant to Black guillemot and other MPA search features.
• Integrating multi-source survey data (government, industry, volunteer) for a standardized view of the marine environment.

Strengths

• Data underpinned the official Scottish Marine Protected Areas process, indicating its use in policy decisions.
• Integrates information from multiple authoritative sources, including SNH, JNCC, and Marine Scotland.
• Data has been placed into a standardized structure to support its use, suggesting a degree of consistency.

Limitations

• Row count and file size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Information varies from recent to much older, implying potential temporal inconsistency.

Provenance

Source

Government Digital Service (aggregator), with original data from SNH, JNCC, and Marine Scotland.

Collection Method

Collated from targeted surveys, industry work, and volunteer recreational records.

Time Range

Information varies from recent to much older; specific range is unknown.

Freshness

Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.

Geography

Marine habitats and species adjacent to Scotland.