Data

EEA Marine waters for analysis

Data

Prod-ID: DAT-285-en

Created 25 Oct 2022 Last modified 15 Dec 2022

3 min read

This map is a harmonised vector dataset serving for analysis purposes only and shall not be considered as an official or legally-binding map representing marine borders in accordance with international laws. This map shall be used without prejudice to the agreements that will be concluded between Member States or between Member States and non-EU Countries in respect of their marine borders.

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EEA Marine waters for analysis

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Metadata

Reporting obligations (ROD)

MSFD - Article 4 - Spatial data

Scale of the data set:

1:100000

Rights:

No limitations to public access

EEA standard re-use policy: unless otherwise indicated, re-use of content on the EEA website for commercial or non-commercial purposes is permitted free of charge, provided that the source is acknowledged (http://www.eea.europa.eu/legal/copyright). Copyright holder: European Environment Agency (EEA).

Disclaimer:

The map should not be understood as representing international marine borders. To this end, the following disclaimer shall accompany the map: "This map is a harmonised dataset serving for analysis purposes only and shall not be considered as an official or legally-binding map representing marine borders in accordance with international laws. This map shall be used without prejudice to the agreements that will be concluded between Member States or between Member States and non-EU Countries in respect of their marine borders.".

Methodology:

The present dataset is a compilation of the layers submitted by Member States (in SHP format) to the European Commission as part of the implementation of the MSFD. For countries that haven't submitted the delimitation of their marine waters, the Marine Reporting Units used within the second reporting cycle (where the extent was limited to their waters) have been merged and dissolved. Dataset is provided split by EU Member States (EU27+UK) and type ("watercolumn and seabed" and "seabed only" areas), resulting in 27 units (MS and type).

The "watercolumn and seabed" areas mark the area from the Member State coastline to 200 NM from the coast. "Watercolumn and seabed" areas, claimed by Greece, extend from the coastline to 6 NM from the coast. "Seabed only" areas represent extended continental shelf beyond 200 NM where some Member States have advanced seabed /subsoil claims. "Seabed only" areas, claimed by Greece, extend beyond the 6 NM territorial water extension.

Compared to the first release (May 2020) of the Marine waters used in Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), the present dataset has the following notable differences in marine waters type:
- extent of "seabed only" areas for Portugal - reported within the latest submission,
- entire reported area by Malta is now considered as „Watercolumn and seabed“.

Coordinate reference system:

EPSG:3035

Data sources

Marine waters used in Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) - INTERNAL VERSION - version 2.0

Owners:

European Environment Agency (EEA)

Processors:

European Topic Centre on Inland, Coastal and Marine waters (ETC/ICM)

TC Vode

Additional information

This dataset originates from the second edition of Marine waters used in Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), which was subsequentially harmonised with map "EEA coastline for analysis" and "MSFD regions and subregions" from map "Regional seas around Europe, Oct. 2022".

EEA Marine waters for analysis dataset thus contains 44 units, distinguished between EU Member States (EU27+UK), MSFD regions/subregions, and type ("Watercolumn and seabed" and "Seabed only" areas).

The "Watercolumn and seabed" areas mark the area from the Member State coastline to 200 NM from the coast except for the "Watercolumn and seabed" areas, claimed by Greece, which extend from the coastline to 6 NM from the coast. "Seabed only" areas represent extended continental shelf beyond 200 NM where some Member States have advanced seabed /subsoil claims.