This report is a contribution to the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA5) conducted by the Department of Trade and Industry (now Department of Energy and Climate Change). The purpose of this report is to present an up-to-date synthesis of current information on the benthic environment and the benthic communities and associations in the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) region 5 and, additionally, to highlight areas considered to be particularly vulnerable to anthropogenic influences. The synthesis has been prepared from the information available on seabed habitats, species and communities to the east of Orkney and Shetland and extending down the east coast of Scotland. The area includes the major east coast features, the Moray Firth, the Firth of Forth, and the Tay estuary, and the inner Firths of Dornoch, Cromarty and Inverness, the Ythan Estuary and the Montrose basin.
dataset
Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) data portal
- The Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) data portal provides free access to available data and reports which have been produced through the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change SEA process. The site is run and managed by BGS on behalf of the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC). Many files can be downloaded directly from this website. Those that are too large to download can be ordered via the website for postal delivery from BGS.
Murchison House, West Mains Road,
Edinburgh,
EH9 3LA,
UK
tel: +44 (0)131 667 1000
email:
offshoredata@bgs.ac.uk
Role: custodian
Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC)
Admiralty Way,
London,
SW1A 2HD,
UK
tel: +44 0300 060 4000
email:
enquiries@decc.gsi.gov.uk
Role: originator
Data Quality
As part of the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change's Offshore Energy Strategic Environmental Assessment programme this report was prepared by: the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Crete, Greece; Mill of Elrick Fish Farm, Auchnagatt, Ellon, Aberdeenshire; and FRS Marine Laboratory, Aberdeen. The synthesis has been prepared from the information available on seabed habitats, species and communities to the east of Orkney and Shetland and extending down the east coast of Scotland. The information was obtained from a wide range of sources including recent and historical scientific studies, regional surveys commissioned by the UK government and its agencies, industry reports and by personal communication.