Redmap: Community-Sourced Shark and Ray Sightings in South Australia

South Australia's Redmap project collects community-submitted sightings of uncommon marine species, primarily sharks and rays. The data includes verified photo sightings and anecdotal community reports, with information on species, location, date, activity, and optional biological and environmental details. This live dataset is managed by the Australian Ocean Data Network and is subject to a three-year embargo on recent records.

Use Cases

• Modeling species distribution changes over time based on location and date data.
• Analyzing community engagement in marine science based on the volume of verified versus anecdotal sightings.
• Correlating species sightings with environmental conditions based on optional water temperature and depth data.
• Mapping regional hotspots for uncommon marine species based on geospatial location information.

Strengths

• Includes both scientifically verified and community-sourced observations, providing multiple data perspectives.
• Collects optional biological data such as sex, size, and weight for individual sightings.
• Managed by the authoritative Australian Ocean Data Network, with a last update recorded for 2026-04-28.

Limitations

• Spatial elements have reduced accuracy, as noted in the description.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

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

Time Range

Contains data with a three-year embargo; does not include records less than three years old.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-28 12:39:21.252353; freshness should be verified.

Geography

South Australia, focusing on regional coasts and marine environments.