1841dce3-0a7e-411a-ab7c-ce1a4bdcd5a9 National Parks and Wildlife Service Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage Ecological Data Manager +353-1-8882000 n/a National Parks and Wildlife Service 90 North King Street Dublin 7 D07 N7CV Ireland datadelivery@housing.gov.ie 2023-11-14T15:35:00 ISDI Metadata Profile 1.2 EPSG Geodetic Parameter Dataset EPSG 2009-11-25 4326 http://www.opengis.net/def/crs/EPSG/0/4326 Seabird Monitoring undertaken during the Western European Shelf Pelagic Acoustic Survey (WESPAS) 2021 2021 Seabird Monitoring undertaken during WESPAS 2023-03-29 Seabird Monitoring undertaken during the Western European Shelf Pelagic Acoustic Survey (WESPAS) 2021 https://data.gov.ie/dataset/ Under the EU Birds Directive, there is a requirement on member states to conduct surveillance of seabirds occurring within their waters. A standard line transect survey methodology was employed by the seabird observer with additional visual point sampling at fishing locations and oceanographic sampling stations. Survey transects were undertaken at speeds of 5-10 knots, with fishing activity being conducted at speeds of 2-3 knots. The seabird observer’s survey effort was maximized and optimized during periods of sea state less than or equal to sea state 6 and with visibility of greater than 300m. A total of 7210 seabird observations were recorded throughout the survey, totalling 32229 individuals. In total, 12391 seabirds were recorded as “in transect”, while 19838 were recorded “off transect”. The species encountered included 26 species from eight families. A further 21 observations of terrestrial/migratory birds were also recorded, comprising of 79 individuals. The WESPAS provides a unique opportunity for surveillance of the summer distribution of seabirds in shelf water habitats along Ireland’s Atlantic margins, which can be difficult to reach by other means. The waters of Ireland’s Atlantic margin are highly productive owing to the upwelling of nutrient rich oceanic waters, and support large and diverse species’ assemblages . The availability and distribution of prey is a key factor affecting the distribution of seabirds, and the complex bathymetry and hydrology of the Atlantic margin maintain a heterogeneous marine environment, making it a key habitat for seabirds. National Parks and Wildlife Service Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage Ecological Data Manager +353-1-8882000 n/a National Parks and Wildlife Service 90 North King Street Dublin 7 D07 N7CV Ireland datadelivery@housing.gov.ie Species distribution GEMET - INSPIRE themes, version 1.0 GEMET 2008-12-05 biota, biodiversity, animal population, bird GEMET - Concepts, version 4.2.3 2021-12-06 National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS, bird, Birds Directive, biodiversity National Parks and Wildlife Service 2012-07-20 Ireland ISO 3166 ISO Country List 2008-12-13 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Copyright Government of Ireland. This dataset was created by National Parks and Wildlife Service, Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. This copyright material is licensed for re-use under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 50000 environment -18.427734375 -6.298828125 51.533267498016 58.740298748015995 2021-06-10 2021-07-19 0 1014 An Ordnance Datum or OD is a vertical datum used by an ordnance survey as the basis for deriving altitudes on maps. A spot height may be expressed as AOD for "above ordnance datum". Usually mean sea level (MSL) is used for the datum. Malin Ordnance Datum Derivation of vertical height or depth (in metres) In the Republic of Ireland, OD for the Ordnance Survey of Ireland is Malin Ordnance Datum: the Mean Sea Level (MSL) at Portmoor Pier, Malin Head, County Donegal, between 1960 and 1969. 5731 EPSG Projection 5731 - Malin Head height Metres Derivation of Altitude OD based on Mean Sea Level, Malin Head 1960-1969 Esri shapefile v10+ National Parks and Wildlife Service Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage Ecological Data Manager +353-1-8882000 n/a National Parks and Wildlife Service 90 North King Street Dublin 7 D07 N7CV Ireland datadelivery@housing.gov.ie.ie https://www.npws.ie/sites/default/files/general/WPAS21_01a.zip zip Seabird Monitoring undertaken during the Western European Shelf Pelagic Acoustic Survey (WESPAS) 2021 dataset published on NPWS website INSPIRE Data Specification on Provide Spatial Data Theme keyword INSPIRE Data Specifications v3.0 2011-06-15 The INSPIRE Directive or INSPIRE lays down a general framework for a Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) for the purposes of European Community environmental policies and policies or activities which may have an impact on the environment. false COMMISSION REGULATION (EU) No 1089/2010 of 23 November 2010 implementing Directive 2007/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards interoperability of spatial data sets and services INSPIRE Interoperability Regulation 2010-12-08 Level of conformance with the COMMISSION REGULATION (EU) No 1089/2010 of 23 November 2010 implementing Directive 2007/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards interoperability of spatial data sets and services false The Cybertracker (https://cybertracker.org) data collection software package (Version 3.514) was configured for optimum use on the survey. Cybertracker was used to record all positional, environmental and seabird observation data. Using a portable GPS receiver with USB connection, the Cybertracker software automatically recorded the ships position directly into a Microsoft Access database every 5 seconds. Environmental data was regularly recorded using Cybertracker, including at the start of each seabird survey transect, and included data such as; wind speed, wind direction, sea state, swell, visibility, cloud cover and precipitation. The data was time stamped with GPS data by Cybertracker and saved in the Access database. If environmental conditions changed at any point, the seabird observer recorded an environmental update of the above listed data. Each line transect was assigned a unique transect number, and a new transect was started anytime the vessel activity changed (i.e. changing from on-transect to inter-transect). Each subsequent seabird observation was also assigned to this unique transect number. Ancillary information (such as line changes, changes in survey activity, other vessel activity, etc.) were also recorded on Cybertracker. The GPS position of each seabird record was time stamped and digitally marked using Cybertracker. Observational data such as; species identification, distance band, group size, composition, heading, age, moult, behaviour and any associations with cetaceans or other vessels were also recorded on the time stamped Cybertracker sighting record page. Where species identification could not be confirmed, observations were recorded at an appropriate taxonomic level (i.e. large gull sp., Larus sp., commic tern, etc.). Additional visual point sampling was conducted at oceanographic sampling stations and fishing shoot/haul locations. Point sampling survey effort for seabirds was conducted in 360 o arc around the vessel. Data recording methodology remained similar for both point sampling and line transect methods.