To improve access to high quality marine data, the European Commission sets up the European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODnet) and different thematic data portals are under development. Currently the prototype of the marine biological data portal of EMODnet is launched. This open-access portal provides data on the distribution of marine species (including environmental data layers). We welcome you to visit the data portal and are looking forward to receiving your personal feedback to help shape the final European marine biological data portal.

The Biological open-access EMODnet portal provides data on the distribution of marine species (including environmental data layers). This major resource holds 14 million distributions of 26,000 species, aggregated from 277 datasets (from 81 EU institutions). You can plot species distributions by scientific or common name or by attributes, and filter further down on temporal/geographical and depth ranges. Additional environmental GIS layers can be added to the distribution maps and the data and metadata can be exported into easy to use formats.

For the North Sea, the biological portal includes over 5 million distribution records from over 7,500 marine species and over 2 million distribution records from 1,800 different species observed at the Bay of Biscay. Long-term observations from different marine species - including planktonic organisms, benthic animals, fishes, sea mammals and seabirds - provided by different data providers are integrated and can easily be plotted, selected, compared and downloaded through the EMODnet portal. Besides species observations, OGC compliant GIS layers with environmental parameters from other EMODnet portals (salinity, sea bed substrate) or administrative boundaries can be plotted on the portal.

We welcome you to visit the webportal and are looking forward to receiving your personal feedback. All your suggestions and comments will be included in the final report, together with recommendations for the future development of the biological EMODnet portal, and will shape the final European marine biological data portal. We can include comments given before the end of March. Feedback can be given directly though the feedback form at http://bio.emodnet.eu/portal or by sending it to bio@emodnet.eu.

More information on EMODnet Biology: bio.emodnet.eu

We thank you very much for this feedback.

Bio EMODnet team
Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ)
InnovOcean Site, Wandelaarkaai 7
B-8400 Oostende
Email: bio@emodnet.eu
Phone: 0032-59-340159