The Royal Decree of 20 March 2026 establishing the marine spatial plan for the period 2026 to 2034 in the Belgian marine areas defines 13 dredging zones: Dredge spoil disposal zone S1 (Art. 15§1.1°), Dredge spoil disposal zone S2 (Art. 15§1.2°), Dredge spoil disposal zone "Public Works Ostend" (Art. 15§1.3°), Dredge spoil disposal zone "Public Works Zeebrugge East" (Art. 15§1.4°), Dredge spoil disposal zone "Public Works Zeebrugge West" (Art. 15§1.5°), Dredge spoil disposal site "Public Works Nieuwpoort" (Art. 15§1.6°), Dredge spoil disposal zone "Zeebrugge Erosion Pit" (Art. 15§1.7°), Zone 1 for future replacement of dredge spoil zone S1 (Art. 15§4.1°), Zone 2 for future replacement of dredge spoil zone S1 (Art. 15§4.2°), Search zone 1 for future replacement of Zeebrugge East and West (Art. 15§6), Search zone 2 for future replacement of Zeebrugge East and West (Art. 15§6), Search zone 3 for future replacement of Zeebrugge East and West (Art. 15§6), Dredge spoil disposal zone for future replacement "Public Works Nieuwpoort" (Art. 15§8). 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 1, criterion 2. It originates from the ICES DATRAS (Database of Trawl Surveys), which compiles standardised bottom trawl survey data collected from various European waters; for this indicator, the Belgian Beam Trawl Survey (BTS) data from the North Sea were used. The dataset includes species abundance, length and age distributions, catch per unit effort, and environmental parameters, providing key insights on the population abundance of thornback ray (Raja clavata) and lesser-spotted dogfish (Scyliorhinus canicula) for stock assessment and fisheries management.

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.

The Royal Decree of 20 March 2026 establishing the marine spatial plan for the period 2026 to 2034 in the Belgian marine areas defines 13 military use zones: Mine warfare exercise zone – QZR 040 (Art. 21§1.1°), Mine warfare exercise zone – NBH-10 (Wenduine) (Art. 21§1.2°), Mine warfare exercise zone – NB-01 (Westhinder) (Art. 21§1.3°), Mine warfare exercise zone (Buiten Ratel) (Art. 21§1.4°), Belgisch Nationaal Oefengebied voor Marineschepen (BNOM) (Art. 21§1.5°), Shallow Water Zone (Art. 21§1.6°), Zone for detonation exercises and operations (Art. 21§2), Lombardsijde firing sector: small sector (Art. 21§3.1°), Lombardsijde firing sector: middle sector (Art. 21§3.2°), Lombardsijde firing sector: large sector (Art. 21§3.3°), Paardenmarkt munitions disposal site (Art. 22§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 1, criterion 2. This dataset reports the population abundance (number of individuals, biomass) of benthic-feeding, pelagic-feeding, surface-feeding and wading birds in Belgian waters, combining yearly breeding-colony nest counts along the Belgian coast with ship-based at-sea seabird counts.

This dataset is part of the 2024 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 (2016-2021). Besides this, all observations of illegal discharges of MARPOL annex I and II substances are included as an additional dataset.

The Royal Decree of 20 March 2026 establishing the marine spatial plan for the period 2026 to 2034 in the Belgian marine areas defines 8 scientific research and recreation zones: Thorntonbank monitoring area (Art. 23§10.1°), Gootebank monitoring area (Art. 23§10.2°), Scientific research zone (Art. 23§3), Search area for scientific research reserve (Art. 23§6), Zone with prohibition of additional fixed structures (Art. 23§7.4°), Zone accessible for scientific research 1 (Art. 23§8.1°), Zone accessible for scientific research 2 (Art. 23§8.1°), Reference area for calibration and quality assessment of measuring instruments (Art. 23§9). 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.

This dataset is part of the 2024 Belgian submission for the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) linked to descriptor 1, criterion 1. It reports the mortality rate of marine mammals, in particular harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena), from incidental bycatch in the Belgian part of the North Sea, combining strandings investigations, reported incidental catches and aerial abundance surveys.

This dataset is part of the 2024 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 on 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 Surveys). 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 2016-2021, washed ashore on reference beaches (Oostende Halve Maan, Oostende Raversijde and, from 2020 onwards, Nieuwpoort Lombardsijde). 17 surveys (100m transects) have been executed until Spring 2021. 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 under consideration to be reported to the OSPAR beach litter database, under the condition that the data cannot be used for trend analyses, because of the nature of the data.