This dataset represents the location of the Princess Elizabeth zone in the Belgian Part of the North Sea as described in the Royal Decree of May 22th, 2019, establishing a marine spatial plan for the period 2020-2026. Art. 8. § 3.

This dataset represents the exact location of the wind turbines in the Belgian Part of the North Sea.

This dataset is part of the 2018 Belgian submission for the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) linked to descriptor 8, criterion 3. This dataset gives an overview of the observed slicks during aerial survey operations of the Belgian part of the North Sea (2011-2016). Related to significant acute pollution, it includes the observations linked to the Flinterstar incident in 2015. Besides this, all observations of illegal discharges of MARPOL (International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships) annex I and II substances are included as an additional dataset.

This dataset is part of the 2018 Belgian submission for the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) linked to descriptor 1, criterion 2. The Raja clavata dataset describes the results of the Offshore Beam Trawl Surveys (BTS) in the Belgian part of the North Sea (BPNS) between 2010 and 2017. Occurrences of Raja Clavata, along with dates and locations, are reported. The codes used in the attached file are based on the ICES DATRAS (Database of Trawl Surveys) standard. The seabirds dataset describes the density of seabirds (N birds/km) observed in the BPNS between 1987 and 2016 (three surveys a year).

This dataset describes the extents and location of Sandbanks (code 1110) in the Belgian Part of the North Sea (BPNS) as required for article 17 of the Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora. The Council Directive seeks to contribute to ensuring biodiversity in the European Union by the conservation of natural habitats and wild fauna and flora species.

The dataset describes the physical habitats in the Belgian Part of the North Sea. It uses the EUNIS classification system as well as the MSFD Habitat codelist for the description and classification of the BPNS. It provides also information on the energy, biozone and type of substrate for the different areas in the BPNS.

The Royal Decree of 22 May 2019 establishing a marine spatial plan defines 1 coastal protection experiments zone: Zone for coastal protection experiments (Art. 16§2). It replaces the 2014 Marine Spatial Plan, which is included for completeness. The Royal Decree of 20 March 2014 establishing a marine spatial plan defines in its Art. 12. §1 one zone for coastal protection experiments. This zone is made available digitally in the resource described by this metadata document. Please refer to the Belgian official gazette (\"Moniteur belge/Belgisch Staatsblad\") for official reference information.

UNDER EMBARGO - This dataset contains seasonal physiological measurements from controlled laboratory experiments on two dominant suspension-feeding species expected to colonise floating offshore structures: the blue mussel (Mytilus edulis; AphiaID 140480) and the wrinkled barnacle (Balanus crenatus; AphiaID 106215). The measured parameters include clearance rates, respiration rates, faecal pellet production rates, and faecal pellet sinking velocities. Mussels were collected from an aquaculture longline at the Westdiep SeaFarm, while barnacles were manually retrieved from the intertidal beachhead at Raversijde (Oostende, Belgium). All experiments were conducted using natural seawater collected from offshore sites in the Belgian part of the North Sea. Measurements were repeated across multiple seasons to capture temporal variability in physiological performance. The dataset was produced within the SWiM and EcoMPV projects and is suitable for reuse in ecosystem and biogeochemical modelling, including simulations of phytoplankton dynamics associated with large-scale offshore marine photovoltaic (MPV) developments.

This dataset describes the location of the samples gathered for the Scientific research program DGL-JW (2021-15) managed bu the FPS Environment. Sampling started in 2004 and lasted until 2021.

This dataset is part of the 2018 Belgian submission for the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) linked to descriptor 10, criterion 1. The seafloor dataset describes the litter gathered between 2012 and 2014 during beam trawl (BTS) fishery surveys in the Belgian part of the North Sea (BPNS). It provides the date, location and haul information, type of litter found and information in the size of the items. Additionally the ship name and cruise references are reported. The data is recorded following ICES guidelines allowing future inclusion in the ICES online database DATRAS (Database of Trawl Survery). The sludge dataset describes the litter found between 2013 and 2016 on dredge disposal sites located in the coastal area of the Belgian part of the North Sea (BPNS). It provides the date, location, amount and type of litter as well as methodological information (e.g. mesh size). Additionally, the ship name and cruise references are reported. The beach litter dataset contains information on beach litter for the period 2012-2016 washed ashore on two reference beaches (Oostende Halve Maan & Oostende Raversijde). 40 surveys (100m transects) have been executed until January 2017. Monitoring & data recording has been done according to the OSPAR Guideline for Monitoring Marine Litter on the beaches in the OSPAR maritime area (OSPAR, 2010). Besides the number of litter items, the category is also noted. The dataset is characterized by a high variation in the number of items. The data are reported to OSPAR beach litter database. Conclusions: see https://odnature.naturalsciences.be/msfd/nl/assessments/2018/page-d10