Redmap NSW: Community-Sighted Marine Species with Photo Verification

New South Wales community-sourced sightings of uncommon marine species, collected via the Redmap website. The dataset includes verified sightings with photos and anecdotal community reports, mapped to show potential changes in species distribution over time. Data is managed by the Australian Ocean Data Network and is subject to a three-year embargo.

Use Cases

• Modeling changes in marine species distributions over time based on community sightings.
• Analyzing the relationship between species sightings and environmental factors like water temperature and depth.
• Comparing the spatial accuracy and reliability of verified photo sightings versus anecdotal community reports.
• Identifying regions with uncommon species occurrences along the New South Wales coast.

Strengths

• Includes both verified (with photo) and community (anecdotal) sighting categories.
• Collects optional biological data (sex, size, weight) and environmental data (water depth, temperature, habitat).
• Data is live and will be updated over time to map a 'story' of environmental changes.

Limitations

• Spatial elements have reduced accuracy.
• Subject to a three-year embargo, meaning it does not contain data less than three years old.
• Row count and column-level documentation are unknown, limiting suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network via Redmap.

Collection Method

Community-sourced sightings logged via the Redmap website, with verification by marine biologists for photo submissions.

Time Range

Historical data with a three-year embargo on recent records.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-28 15:15:35.694496; freshness should be verified.

Geography

New South Wales, Australia, focusing on marine regions and coastlines.