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.

The Royal Decree of 22 May 2019 establishing a marine spatial plan defines 7 fishery management zones: Professional fisheries (Art. 13), Passive fisheries area (Noordhinder Noord) (Art. 14§4), Passive fisheries area (Noordhinder Zuid) (Art. 14§4), Passive fisheries (Fairybank) (Art. 14§4), Search area 1 for fisheries techniques (Art. 6§1), Search area 2 for fisheries techniques (Art. 6§1), Search area 3 for fisheries techniques (Art. 6§1). 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. 6, six fisheries management areas: Regular regime, Art. 6 § 1; Fisheries management area 1, Art. 6 § 1.1°; Fisheries management area 2, Art. 6 § 1.2°; Fisheries management area 3, Art. 6 § 1.3°; Fisheries management area 4, Art. 6 § 1.4°; Fisheries management area 5, Art. 6 § 3. These zones are 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.

The Royal Decree of 22 May 2019 establishing a marine spatial plan defines 4 aquaculture zones: Zone 1 for aquaculture (Eastern zone) (Art. 14§1), Zone 2 for aquaculture (Noordhinder Noord) (Art. 14§2), Zone 3 for aquaculture (Noordhinder Zuid) (Art. 14§3), Zone 4 for aquaculture (Fairybank) (Art. 14§3). 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. 10, two zones for sustainable aquaculture: Zone 1 for sustainable aquaculture, Art. 10 § 2 Zone 1; Zone 2 for sustainable aquaculture, Art. 10 § 2 Zone 2. These zones are 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.

This dataset is part of the Belgian submission for the 2018 Marine Strategic Framework Directive (MSFD) and reports on descriptor 1, criterion 6. This dataset describes the soft benthos analysis performed in the Belgian part of the North Sea between 2010 and 2016. Information on the location, date and procedure used for the sediment sampling is povided as well as the description of the species found in the samples. Based on this dataset, the Belgian MSFD reporting concluded that the benthic habitat quality is clearly lower in areas where a certain activity interferes with the environment in an intensive way.

This datasets is a summary of the CTD profiles measured with the RV Belgica. It provides general meta-information such as the campaign code, the date of measurement and the geographical information. An important information is the profile quality flag that describes the validity of the data. A quality flag = 2 means the data is generally good although some outliers can still be present. A quality flag = 4 means the data should not be trusted. 1 meter binned data can be download on the SeaDataNet CDI portal (enter the cruise_id in the search bar) ONLY for the good quality profiles. Full acquisition frequency datasets are available on request to BMDC.

This dataset represents the exact location of disused telecommunication cables installed in the Belgian Part of the North Sea.

The Geological Map of Belgium at a scale of 1:40000 is published by the Belgian Geological Survey.

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

The Royal Decree of 22 May 2019 establishing a marine spatial plan defines 12 sand and gravel extraction zones: Sand and gravel exploitation sector 1a (Thorntonbank) (Art. 15§1), Sand and gravel exploitation sector 2br (Buiten Ratel) (Art. 15§1), Sand and gravel exploitation sector 2kb (Kwintebank) (Art. 15§1), Sand and gravel exploitation sector 2od (Oostdyck) (Art. 15§1), Sand and gravel exploitation sector 3a (Sierra Ventana) (Art. 15§1), Sand and gravel exploitation sector 3b (Sierra Ventana) (Art. 15§1), Sand and gravel exploitation sector 4a (Noordhinder) (Art. 15§1), Sand and gravel exploitation sector 4b (Oosthinder-noord) (Art. 15§1), Sand and gravel exploitation sector 4c (Oosthinder-zuid) (Art. 15§1), Sand and gravel exploitation sector 4d (Westhinder) (Art. 15§1), Sand and gravel exploitation sector 5 (Blighbank) (Art. 15§1), Zone for research of the potential of the exploration and exploitation of sand and gravel (Art. 15§4). 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. 11., eleven Management zones with regards to sand and gravel extraction: ten sand and gravel exploitation zones (Thorntonbank, Art. 11 § 1 Sector 1a, Kwintebank, Art. 11 § 1 Sector 2kb, Buiten Ratel, Art. 11 § 1 Sector 2br, Oostdyck, Art. 11 § 1 Sector 2od, Sierra Ventana, Art. 11 § 1 Sector 3a, Sierra Ventana, Art. 11 § 1 Sector 3b, Noord Hinder, Art. 11 § 1 Sector 4a, Oosthinder-noord, Art. 11 § 1 Sector 4b, Oosthinder-zuid, Art. 11 § 1 Sector 4c, Westhinder, Art. 11 § 1 Sector 4d) and one reference zone for monitoring impact of windmills and sand exploitation (Art. 11 § 3). These zones are 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.

The Royal Decree of 22 May 2019 establishing a marine spatial plan defines in its Art. 11. five dredged material disposal sites (Dredged material disposal site S1, Art. 11 § 1.1°; Dredged material disposal site S2, Art. 11 § 1.2°; Dredged material disposal site Bruggen en Wegen Oostende, Art. 11 § 1.3°; Dredged material disposal site Bruggen en Wegen Zeebrugge Oost, Art. 11 § 1.4°; Dredged material disposal site Bruggen en Wegen Nieuwpoort, Art. 11 § 1.5°). Futhermore, additional zones are defined for the future replacement of dredging areas as defined in Art. 11 §3, §5, §7 and §9. 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. 9. five dredged material disposal sites (Dredged material disposal site S1, Art. 9 § 6.1°; Dredged material disposal site S2, Art. 9 § 6.2°; Dredged material disposal site Bruggen en Wegen Oostende, Art. 9 § 6.3°; Dredged material disposal site Bruggen en Wegen Zeebrugge Oost, Art. 9 § 6.4°; Dredged material disposal site Bruggen en Wegen Nieuwpoort, Art. 9 § 6.5°). These zones are 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.