The Royal Decree of 20 March 2026 establishing the marine spatial plan for the period 2026 to 2034 in the Belgian marine areas defines 1 cultural heritage (wrecks) zones: Protected shipwrecks (Art. 26§1). It replaces the 2020 Marine Spatial Plan. Please refer to the Belgian official gazette ("Moniteur belgeBelgisch Staatsblad") for official reference information.

This dataset represents the exact location of gas pipelines installed in the Belgian Part of the North Sea.

The Royal Decree of 20 March 2026 establishing the marine spatial plan for the period 2026 to 2034 in the Belgian marine areas defines 12 sand and gravel extraction zones: Sand and gravel extraction sector 1a (Thorntonbank) (Art. 19§1.1°), Sand and gravel extraction sector 4d (Art. 19§1.10°), Sand and gravel extraction sector 5 (Blighbank) (Art. 19§1.11°), Sand extraction sector 2kb (Kwintebank) (Art. 19§1.2°), Sand extraction sector 2br (Buiten Ratel) (Art. 19§1.3°), Sand extraction sector 2od (Oostdyck) (Art. 19§1.4°), Sand and gravel extraction sector 3a (Sierra Ventana) (Art. 19§1.5°), Sand and gravel extraction sector 3b (Sierra Ventana) (Art. 19§1.6°), Sand and gravel extraction sector 4a (Noordhinder) (Art. 19§1.7°), Sand and gravel extraction sector 4b (Oosthinder North) (Art. 19§1.8°), Sand and gravel extraction sector 4c (Oosthinder South) (Art. 19§1.9°), Extraction search zone (Art. 19§4). It replaces the 2020 Marine Spatial Plan. Please refer to the Belgian official gazette ("Moniteur belgeBelgisch Staatsblad") for official reference information.

The Royal Decree of 20 March 2026 establishing the marine spatial plan for the period 2026 to 2034 in the Belgian marine areas defines 3 aquaculture zones: Fisheries research zone (Art. 17§2), Zone accessible to aquaculture and passive fisheries (Art. 18), Zone accessible to aquaculture (Art. 18§1). It replaces the 2020 Marine Spatial Plan. Please refer to the Belgian official gazette ("Moniteur belgeBelgisch Staatsblad") for official reference information.

The Royal Decree of 20 March 2026 establishing the marine spatial plan for the period 2026 to 2034 in the Belgian marine areas defines 1 measuring pole: Measurement poles (Art. 25§2). It replaces the 2020 Marine Spatial Plan. Please refer to the Belgian official gazette ("Moniteur belgeBelgisch Staatsblad") for official reference information.

The Royal Decree of 20 March 2026 establishing the marine spatial plan for the period 2026 to 2034 in the Belgian marine areas defines 7 energy, cable and pipeline zones: Renewable energy zone: Zone 1, Eastern Zone (Art. 12§1), Princess Elisabeth renewable energy zone: Zone 2a, Noordhinder North (Art. 12§2.2a°), Princess Elisabeth renewable energy zone: Zone 2b, Noordhinder South (Art. 12§2.2b°), Princess Elisabeth renewable energy zone: Zone 2c, Fairybank (Art. 12§2.3°), Modular offshore grid for electricity transmission (Art. 12§4), Safeguard zone of the Eastern Zone (Art. 12§5), Pipeline and cable corridor (Art. 13§1). It replaces the 2020 Marine Spatial Plan. Please refer to the Belgian official gazette ("Moniteur belgeBelgisch Staatsblad") for official reference information.

This dataset is part of the 2024 Belgian submission for the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) linked to descriptor 9, criterion 1. The dataset contains the results of analyses on raw fish, molluscs and crustacean samples originating from the southern North Sea and the Channel and taken as part of the control programme by the Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain in the period 2016-2021. The analyzed substances are metals (cadmium, mercury and lead), dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs, PCBs, PAHs, PFAS, Cesium 134 and Cesium 137.

This dataset represents the exact location of electrical cables installed in the Belgian Part of the North Sea, including these for for the wind farms.

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 is part of the 2024 Belgian submission for the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) linked to descriptor 6, criterion 5. It reports on the condition of benthic habitats in the Belgian part of the North Sea (BPNS), combining soft-sediment macrobenthos monitoring (in the framework of dredge disposal/sand extraction impact assessment, and offshore wind farm monitoring) with natural hard-substrate benthos monitoring, to evaluate adverse effects on the biotic and abiotic structure and function of benthic habitat types.