MOSES is an EU Interreg Atlantic Area (AA) transnational co-operation project involving eight partners from five member states of the Atlantic Area. The aim of the project is to measure blue growth for the key marine sectors. Additionally, the project will developed methods to assess the pressures on the environment from each of the key marine sectors. By measuring both blue growth and sectoral pressures, the MOSES project aims to develop marine sectoral toolkits to help move them towards sustainable pathways for the future.

The map produced below is based on the data in Work Package 4 (WP4) which employs the MARNET framework to collect comparable marine socio-economic data on maritime activities in the AA. Each MOSES partner used the same methodology to collect the data for their country. The use of EU standards (e.g. NUTS regions for spatial boundaries) ensures that this data is consistent and replicable. The final outputs of this project will be used to look at changes in economic activity and to assess Blue Growth (BG) in the EU AA. The first map below shows the tonnage of fish landed in each NUTS3 region in the AA in 2015. This is one indicator used to measure marine fishing economic activity (NACE code 03 11).

Using the same database from WP 4, the growth in shipping tonnage handled from 2013-2015 was also estimated and mapped at NUTS3 level for the AA. This is shown in the map below. The indicator used is based on gross weight of all goods handled. Therefore, it accounts for traffic both ways (imports and exports) and is an indicator used to measure sea and coastal freight water transport (NACE code 50 20). The map shows a mixture of both growth and shrinking across the NUTS3 regions. All of the Spanish NUTS3 AA regions showed growth in shipping during this period (12.1% growth). For Portugal, the map shows a mixture of growth and shrinkage at NUTS3 levels. However, overall, the story was one of growth of 10.9% during the period. For the Bay of Biscay NUTS3 regions, most areas saw shrinkage except for the Channel NUTS3 regions of France, which all saw growth. France had a slight shrinkage of goods handled in ports with a growth rate of -1.8%. The French Atlantic region (compared to French Mediterranean) had a larger shrinkage of 3.3% during this period.

Looking at the UK and Ireland, two contrasting stories emerge in relation to the growth in shipping tonnage handled. Ireland experienced growth of 8.4% in total, with growth observed in all but one NUTS3 region. The UK experienced a shrinkage of 1.3% but there are regional differences shown by the map with Western and Northern regions experiencing shrinkage while those in the South East saw growth. Overall the story during this period is one of growth for Ireland, Iberia and cross Channel NUTS3 regions, with other regions generally seeing a decrease.

The map above shows the marine share (by area) of Sites of Community Importance (SCI) by each NUTS3 coastal region (updated to 2017). The area of SCI is used as an indicator of protection given to maintaining biodiversity in a region and the marine share indicates how focused this protection is on marine species and habitats for that region. The SCI data was used in Work Package 6 (WP6) to estimate one of the vulnerability vectors (vector four), ‘Protection of coastal areas’. The data is based on the sites protected under the Habitats Directive and the percentage of those protecting coastal and marine habitats based on area. It is noted that the UK SCI marine protected area was extended significantly in 2017 through the Conservation of Offshore Marine Habitats and Species Regulations 2017. Therefore the map above represents a snapshot in time and is not representative of the current state of SCIs as newer SCI areas are continuously being designated as can be seen in Figure 1 below. For more data on SCI’s in the EU see Natura 2000 data - the European network of protected sites.