GeMS: Scottish Priority Marine Features and Habitats with Protection Status

Scottish marine species and habitat records collated into a geodatabase for the waters adjacent to Scotland. Records are attributed with their qualification as protected features within the Scottish Marine Protected Area network. The dataset is provided by the Scottish Government via SpatialData.gov.scot and was last updated in April 2026.

Use Cases

• Mapping the distribution of Scottish Priority Marine Features based on attributed species/habitat records.
• Analyzing the overlap between species occurrences and designated Marine Protected Areas based on protection status attribution.
• Assessing temporal trends in marine feature records based on included date and year fields.
• Calculating spatial statistics for habitat polygons using the provided HECTARES field calculated in ETRS89-LAEA projection.

Strengths

• Records include attribution as protected features within the official Scottish MPA network.
• Polygon area values are calculated using a standardized coordinate reference system (ETRS89-LAEA EPSG:3035).
• Typical record details include scientific name, abundance, date, accuracy, and source provenance as described.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for large-scale analysis.
• The description advises using preconfigured map packages due to database complexity, suggesting raw data may require specialized handling.

Provenance

Source

Scottish Government SpatialData.gov.scot

Collection Method

Collation of species and habitat records from various sources into a geodatabase.

Time Range

null

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-24 22:06:09.551068; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Marine areas adjacent to Scotland.