This visualization product displays the spatial distribution of fishing related items density per trawl. EMODnet Chemistry included the collection of marine litter in its 3rd phase. Since the beginning of 2018, data of seafloor litter collected by international fish-trawl surveys have been gathered and processed in the EMODnet Chemistry Marine Litter Database (MLDB). The harmonization of all the data has been the most challenging task considering the heterogeneity of the data sources, sampling protocols (OSPAR and MEDITS protocols) and reference lists used on a European scale. Moreover, within the same protocol, different gear types are deployed during bottom trawl surveys. In cases where the wingspread and/or number of items were/was unknown, it was not possible to use the data because these fields are needed to calculate the density. Data collected before 2011 are concerned by this filter. When the distance reported in the data was null, it was calculated from: - the ground speed and the haul duration using the following formula: Distance (km) = Haul duration (h) * Ground speed (km/h); - the trawl coordinates if the ground speed and the haul duration were not filled in. The swept area was calculated from the wingspread (which depends on the fishing gear type) and the distance trawled: Swept area (km²) = Distance (km) * Wingspread (km) Densities were calculated on each trawl and year using the following computation: Density of fishing related items (number of items per km²) = ∑Number of fishing related items / Swept area (km²) Then a grid with 30km x 30km cells was used to calculate the weighted mean of densities in each cell from the formula : Weighted mean (number of items per km²) = ∑ (Distance (km) * Density (number of items per km²)) / ∑ Distance (km) Percentiles 50, 75, 95 & 99 were calculated taking into account data for all years. More information on data processing and calculation are detailed in the attached methodology document. Warning: the absence of data on the map does not necessarily mean that they do not exist, but that no information has been entered in the Marine Litter Database for this area. This work is based on the work presented in the following scientific article: O. Gerigny, M. Brun, M.C. Fabri, C. Tomasino, M. Le Moigne, A. Jadaud, F. Galgani, Seafloor litter from the continental shelf and canyons in French Mediterranean Water: Distribution, typologies and trends, Marine Pollution Bulletin, Volume 146, 2019, Pages 653-666, ISSN 0025-326X, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2019.07.030.

This visualization product displays beaches locations where the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) monitoring protocol has been applied to collate data on macrolitter (> 2.5 cm). Reference lists associated with these protocols have been indicated with different colors in the map. EMODnet Chemistry included the collection of marine litter in its 3rd phase. Since the beginning of 2018, data of beach litter have been gathered and processed in the EMODnet Chemistry Marine Litter Database (MLDB). The harmonization of all the data has been the most challenging task considering the heterogeneity of the data sources, sampling protocols and reference lists used on a European scale. Preliminary processings were necessary to harmonize all the data: - Exclusion of OSPAR 1000 protocol: in order to follow the approach of OSPAR that it is not including these data anymore in the monitoring; - Selection of MSFD surveys only (exclusion of other monitoring, cleaning and research operations); - Exclusion of beaches without coordinates; - Some categories & some litter types like organic litter, small fragments (paraffin and wax; items > 2.5cm) and pollutants have been removed. This list was created using EU Marine Beach Litter Baselines, the European Threshold Value for Macro Litter on Coastlines and the Joint list of litter categories for marine macro-litter monitoring from JRC (these three documents are attached to this metadata). More information is available in the attached documents. Warning: the absence of data on the map does not necessarily mean that they do not exist, but that no information has been entered in the Marine Litter Database for this area.

This dataset contains the biological outputs of a global ocean simulation coupling dynamics and biogeochemistry at ¼° over the year 2019. The simulation has been performed using the coupled circulation/ecosystem model NEMO/PISCES (https://www.nemo-ocean.eu/), which is here enhanced to perform an ensemble simulation with explicit simulation of modeling uncertainties in the physics and in the biogeochemistry. This dataset is one of the 40 members of the ensemble simulation. This study was part of the Horizon Europe project SEAMLESS (https://seamlessproject.org/Home.html), with the general objective of improving the analysis and forecast of ecosystem indicators.   See Popov et al. (https://os.copernicus.org/articles/20/155/2024/) for more details on the study.

This visualization product displays the total abundance of marine macro-litter (> 2.5cm) per beach, per 100m & to 1 survey aggregated over the period 2001 to 2023 from Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) monitoring surveys. EMODnet Chemistry included the collection of marine litter in its 3rd phase. Since the beginning of 2018, data of beach litter have been gathered and processed in the EMODnet Chemistry Marine Litter Database (MLDB). The harmonization of all the data has been the most challenging task considering the heterogeneity of the data sources, sampling protocols and reference lists used on a European scale. Preliminary processings were necessary to harmonize all the data: - Exclusion of OSPAR 1000 protocol: in order to follow the approach of OSPAR that it is not including these data anymore in the monitoring; - Selection of MSFD surveys only (exclusion of other monitoring, cleaning and research operations); - Exclusion of beaches without coordinates; - Some categories & some litter types like organic litter, small fragments (paraffin and wax; items > 2.5cm) and pollutants have been removed. The list of selected items is attached to this metadata (total abundance list). This list was created using EU Marine Beach Litter Baselines, the European Threshold Value for Macro Litter on Coastlines and the Joint list of litter categories for marine macro-litter monitoring from JRC (these three documents are attached to this metadata); - Normalization of survey lengths to 100m & 1 survey / year: in some cases, the survey length was not exactly 100m, so in order to be able to compare the abundance of litter from different beaches a normalization is applied using this formula: Number of items (normalized by 100 m) = Number of litter per items x (100 / survey length) Then, this normalized number of items is summed to obtain the total normalized number of litter for each survey. Finally, a median is calculated over the entire period among all these total numbers of litter per 100m calculated for each survey. Sometimes the survey length was null or equal to 0. Assuming that the MSFD protocol has been applied, the length has been set at 100m in these cases. The size of each circle on this map increases with the calculated median number of marine litter per beach, per 100m & to 1 survey. The median litter abundance values displayed in the legend correspond to the 50 and 99 percentiles and the maximum value. More information is available in the attached documents. Warning: - the absence of data on the map does not necessarily mean that they do not exist, but that no information has been entered in the Marine Litter Database for this area. - This map was created to give an idea of the distribution of beach litter between 2001 and 2023 in a synthetic manner. NOT ALL BEACHES MAY HAVE DATA FOR THE ENTIRE PERIOD, SO IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO MAKE A COMPARISON BETWEEN BEACHES.

Data were collected from the regional program LOUPE (Observation of the habitat and associated communities in the context of the fisheries of the Capbreton Canyon). It consisted in the observations of two métiers practiced around the canyon. The observations were carried out between July 2011 and April 2013 on coastal boats. Observations and interviews were made on board commercial vessels. The longlines used in the hake fishery are semi-pelagic and are deployed on the edge of the Capbreton Canyon. It is an emblematic and major métier benefiting from a particular regulation as they take advantage of a prohibition of net and trawl fishing on their fishing grounds. Between 8 and 14 costal boats practice this métier during the year and the fleet characteristics are homogeneous. Boats lay between 1,200 and 1,800 hooks per day, baited with frozen pilchard (Sardina pilchardus). Two or three men are on board these vessels. Fishing is mostly practiced in spring and summer but a small number of vessels work all year. Generally, trips last between ten and twelve hours; longline is set before sunrise and retrieved three or four hours later. Hake is the main targeted species; other targets are pollack (Pollachius pollachius), red sea bream (Pagellus bogaraveo) and conger (Conger conger). Netting is a major métier in terms of vessels involved and the number of trips. Crew composition varies and depends on boat length (from one to four men on average). This métier is practiced by 30 to 35 boats all year round, but fleet characteristics are less homogeneous than in the case of longliners . The strategy of these netters operating in the coastal area is based on the use of several types of nets (gillnets and trammel nets) targeting several species, often sold directly to consumers on the docks. Gillnets, consisting of a single mesh, target hake, sea bass and sea bream species (Diplodus spp, Sparus aurata, Litognathus mormyrus), while the trammel nets (three meshes) are used to capture benthic fish, such as common sole, monkfish (Lophius spp), turbot and brill (Scophthalmus rhombus). Generally, trips last less than twelve hours for coastal netters (less than 15 m), which predominate in the sector, and a few days for large netters. On average, the coastal vessels set 6000 to 8000 m. nets daily.

This visualization product displays the number of Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) monitoring surveys and the associated temporal coverage per beach. EMODnet Chemistry included the collection of marine litter in its 3rd phase. Since the beginning of 2018, data of beach litter have been gathered and processed in the EMODnet Chemistry Marine Litter Database (MLDB). The harmonization of all the data has been the most challenging task considering the heterogeneity of the data sources, sampling protocols and reference lists used on a European scale. Preliminary processings were necessary to harmonize all the data: - Exclusion of OSPAR 1000 protocol: in order to follow the approach of OSPAR that it is not including these data anymore in the monitoring; - Selection of MSFD surveys only (exclusion of other monitoring, cleaning and research operations); - Exclusion of beaches without coordinates. More information is available in the attached documents. Warning: the absence of data on the map does not necessarily mean that they do not exist, but that no information has been entered in the Marine Litter Database for this area.

This visualization product displays the spatial distribution of the sampling effort (based on the start position of the sampling tow) over the six-years' period 2017-2022 from other specific protocols. EMODnet Chemistry included the collection of marine litter in its 3rd phase. Before 2021, there was no coordinated effort at the regional or European scale for micro-litter. Given this situation, EMODnet Chemistry proposed to adopt the data gathering and data management approach as generally applied for marine data, i.e., populating metadata and data in the CDI Data Discovery and Access service using dedicated SeaDataNet data transport formats. EMODnet Chemistry is currently the official EU collector of micro-litter data from Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) National Monitoring activities (descriptor 10). A series of specific standard vocabularies or standard terms related to micro-litter have been added to SeaDataNet NVS (NERC Vocabulary Server) Common Vocabularies to describe the micro-litter. European micro-litter data are collected by the National Oceanographic Data Centres (NODCs). Micro-litter map products are generated from NODCs data after a test of the aggregated collection including data and data format checks and data harmonization. A filter is applied to represent only micro-litter samplings carried out according to a very specific protocol such as the Volvo Ocean Race (VOR) or Oceaneye. The spatial distribution was then determined by calculating the number of times each cell was sampled during the period 2017-2022, only taking into account the start position of the tows. The corresponding total distance (kms) sampled in each cell is also provided in the attribute table. Information on data processing and calculation are detailed in the attached methodology document. Warning: the absence of data on the map does not necessarily mean that they do not exist, but that no information has been entered in the National Oceanographic Data Centre (NODC) for this area. This work is based on the work presented in the following scientific article: O. Gerigny, M. Brun, M.C. Fabri, C. Tomasino, M. Le Moigne, A. Jadaud, F. Galgani, Seafloor litter from the continental shelf and canyons in French Mediterranean Water: Distribution, typologies and trends, Marine Pollution Bulletin, Volume 146, 2019, Pages 653-666, ISSN 0025-326X, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2019.07.030.

This visualization product displays the fishing & aquaculture related plastic items abundance of marine macro-litter (> 2.5cm) per beach per year from Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) monitoring surveys. EMODnet Chemistry included the collection of marine litter in its 3rd phase. Since the beginning of 2018, data of beach litter have been gathered and processed in the EMODnet Chemistry Marine Litter Database (MLDB). The harmonization of all the data has been the most challenging task considering the heterogeneity of the data sources, sampling protocols and reference lists used on a European scale. Preliminary processings were necessary to harmonize all the data: - Exclusion of OSPAR 1000 protocol: in order to follow the approach of OSPAR that it is not including these data anymore in the monitoring; - Selection of MSFD surveys only (exclusion of other monitoring, cleaning and research operations); - Exclusion of beaches without coordinates; - Selection of plastic bags related items only. The list of selected items is attached to this metadata. This list was created using EU Marine Beach Litter Baselines, the European Threshold Value for Macro Litter on Coastlines and the Joint list of litter categories for marine macro-litter monitoring from JRC (these three documents are attached to this metadata); - Normalization of survey lengths to 100m & 1 survey / year: in some case, the survey length was not exactly 100m, so in order to be able to compare the abundance of litter from different beaches a normalization is applied using this formula: Number of plastic bags related items of the survey (normalized by 100 m) = Number of plastic bags related items of the survey x (100 / survey length) Then, this normalized number of plastic bags related items is summed to obtain the total normalized number of plastic bags related items for each survey. Finally, the median abundance of plastic bags related items for each beach and year is calculated from these normalized abundances of plastic bags related items per survey. Sometimes the survey length was null or equal to 0. Assuming that the MSFD protocol has been applied, the length has been set at 100m in these cases. Percentiles 50, 75, 95 & 99 have been calculated taking into account plastic bags related items from MSFD data for all years. More information is available in the attached documents. Warning: the absence of data on the map does not necessarily mean that they do not exist, but that no information has been entered in the Marine Litter Database for this area.

This visualization product displays the type of litter in percent per net per year from research and monitoring protocols. EMODnet Chemistry included the collection of marine litter in its 3rd phase. Before 2021, there was no coordinated effort at the regional or European scale for micro-litter. Given this situation, EMODnet Chemistry proposed to adopt the data gathering and data management approach as generally applied for marine data, i.e., populating metadata and data in the CDI Data Discovery and Access service using dedicated SeaDataNet data transport formats. EMODnet Chemistry is currently the official EU collector of micro-litter data from Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) National Monitoring activities (descriptor 10). A series of specific standard vocabularies or standard terms related to micro-litter have been added to SeaDataNet NVS (NERC Vocabulary Server) Common Vocabularies to describe the micro-litter. European micro-litter data are collected by the National Oceanographic Data Centres (NODCs). Micro-litter map products are generated from NODCs data after a test of the aggregated collection including data and data format checks and data harmonization. A filter is applied to represent only micro-litter sampled according to research and monitoring protocols as MSFD monitoring. To calculate percentages for each type, formula applied is: Type (%) = (∑number of particles of each type)*100 / (∑number of particles of all type) When the number of micro-litters was not filled or was equal zero, it was not possible to calculate the percentage. Standard vocabularies for micro-litter types are taken from Seadatanet's H01 library (https://vocab.seadatanet.org/v_bodc_vocab_v2/search.asp?lib=H01 ). Some morphological types of micro-litters may have been sampled but were not defined by the protocole applied during the survey. They are represented as « undefined micro-litter items ». Warnings: - the absence of data on the map does not necessarily mean that they do not exist, but that no information has been entered in the National Oceanographic Data Centre (NODC) for this area. - since 03/07/2023, the preferred label « Undefined micro-litter items » has been integrated into the H01 library whereas the labels « microplastic items », « non-plastic man-made micro-particles (e.g. glass, metal, tar) » and «non-plastic filaments (natural fibres, rubber) » have been deprecated. When defined, the material or polymer type can be checked directly in the source data.