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 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 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 is part of the 2018 Belgian submission for the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) linked to descriptor 4, criterion 2. Three distinct datasets are published for this criterion.'Occurrence of breeding seabirds' describes the observation of eight seabird species (Common tern, Black-headed Gull, Herring Gull, Common Gull, Small Black-backed Gull, Yellow-legged gull, Big Stern and Little Stern) on the Belgian coast between 1992 and 2015. 'Density of seabirds' describes the density of seabirds (N birds/km) observed at large in the Belgian part of the North Sea between 1987 and 2016 (three surveys a year). Thirteen species are monitored and the evolution of each species density is shown as diagrams.'Occurrence of important benthic species' describes the results of Van Veen sampling campaigns performed between 2009 and 2014 in the Belgian part of the North Sea. Benthic species are counted and identified (e.g. Annelida, Echinodermata,..).

This dataset is part of the 2018 Belgian submission for the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) linked to descriptor 5, criterion 2. This dataset contains the average of the 90th percentile chlorophyll a concentration during the growing season (march-october) in the Belgian part of the North Sea for the years 2011-2016. Chlorophyll a concentration (Chl) was generated from satellite daily data from ocean colour sensors. Data is supplied at approximately 1 km resolution on a geographical grid with equal spacing in longitude and latitude covering the described region.

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 3. Occurrence of breeding seabirds describes the observation of eight seabird species (Common tern, Black-headed Gull, Herring Gull, Common Gull, Small Black-backed Gull, Yellow-legged gull, Big Stern and Little Stern) on the Belgian coast between 1992 and 2015.

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.

The Royal Decree of 22 May 2019 establishing a marine spatial plan defines 6 energy, cable and pipeline zones: Area 1 for renewable energy (Eastern zone) (Art. 8§1), Area 2 for renewable energy (Noordhinder North) (Art. 8§2), Area 3 for renewable energy (Noordhinder Zuid) (Art. 8§3), Area for renewable energy - zone 4 (Fairybank) (Art. 8§3), Modular offshore grid for transmission of energy (Art. 8§5), Pipelines and cables corridor (Art. 9§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. 8., five energy, cables and pipelines zones: one zone for domain concessions to construct and exploit installations for the production of electricity from water, currents or wind (Area for renewable energy (initially wind farms), Art. 8. § 1), one zone for domain concessions to construct and exploit installations for the transport of electricity (Plug at sea, Art. 8. § 3), two zones for installations for energy storage (Energy atoll 1, Art. 8. § 5 zone 1 and Energy atoll 2, Art. 8. § 5 zone 2) and one zone to construct and exploit pipelines and cables (Pipelines and cables corridor, Art. 8. § 7). 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 2 potential seaport expansion zones: Potential harbour extension Oostende (Art. 12§2), Potential harbour extension Zeebrugge (Art. 12§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. 9. § 10, two zones (Art. 9 §10 zone 1, Ostend, Art. 9 §10 zone 2, Zeebrugge) for the potential extension of the sea ports of Ostend en Zeebrugge. 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.