Open Government Licence (OGL)

This layer presents a 30-year (1971-2000) temperature climatology for near-bed regions of the NW European shelf seas, with a resolution of 1/6 longitude by 1/10 latitude. The data have been extracted from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) data centre and supplemented by additional records from the World Ocean Data Centre (WODC). From the original data, which are irregularly distributed in space and time, the mean monthly temperature and salinity are calculated, as well as the climatic mean annual cycle. The climatology presented here is an improvement upon all existing climatologies presented in the literature for the NW European shelf; covering a wider area on a finer scale and including the surface and near-bed distribution of both temperature and salinity. Comparison of our data with existing climatologies shows good agreement, with differences occurring where our climatology is an improvement. This climatology, which will prove to be valuable to many users in the marine community will be regularly updated and made available to all users via the ICES data centre.

This layer presents a 30-year (1971-2000) salinity climatology for surface  regions of the NW European shelf seas, with a resolution of 1/6 longitude by 1/10 latitude. The data have been extracted from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) data centre and supplemented by additional records from the World Ocean Data Centre (WODC). From the original data, which are irregularly distributed in space and time, the mean monthly temperature and salinity are calculated, as well as the climatic mean annual cycle. The climatology presented here is an improvement upon all existing climatologies presented in the literature for the NW European shelf; covering a wider area on a finer scale and including the surface and near-bed distribution of both temperature and salinity. Comparison of our data with existing climatologies shows good agreement, with differences occurring where our climatology is an improvement. This climatology, which will prove to be valuable to many users in the marine community will be regularly updated and made available to all users via the ICES data centre.

This layer presents a 30-year (1971-2000) temperature climatology for surface regions of the NW European shelf seas, with a resolution of 1/6 longitude by 1/10 latitude. The data have been extracted from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) data centre and supplemented by additional records from the World Ocean Data Centre (WODC). From the original data, which are irregularly distributed in space and time, the mean monthly temperature and salinity are calculated, as well as the climatic mean annual cycle. The climatology presented here is an improvement upon all existing climatologies presented in the literature for the NW European shelf; covering a wider area on a finer scale and including the surface and near-bed distribution of both temperature and salinity. Comparison of our data with existing climatologies shows good agreement, with differences occurring where our climatology is an improvement. This climatology, which will prove to be valuable to many users in the marine community will be regularly updated and made available to all users via the ICES data centre.

Regional Inshore Fisheries Groups (RIFGs) are bodies that aim to improve the management of Scotland's inshore fisheries (out to twelve nautical miles) and to give commercial inshore fishermen a strong voice in wider marine management developments. The West Coast and North & East Coast RIFGs were originally established in April 2016, replacing the four IFGs that formerly covered the Scottish mainland coast. In 2020, the scope of RIFGs was extended to the 12NM limit as part of the Future Fisheries Management (FFM) policy.

In 2025, the network was restructured to strengthen regional representation. A new North & North West RIFG now covers the area from Ardnamurchan Point northwards around the west coast and up to Inverness, including the Inner Hebrides north of Ardnamurchan Point. The East Coast RIFG boundary was revised and now starts at Inverness and runs clockwise down the east coast to the English border, creating a clearer separation from the new North & North West region. The current RIFG network comprises: North & North West Coast, East Coast, South West Coast, Outer Hebrides, Orkney, and Shetland (operating alongside the Shetland Shellfish Management Organisation).