Under the Environment (Wales) Act (2016), Section 7 requires biodiversity lists to be produced. These lists include types of habitats which are of 'Principal Importance' for the purpose of maintain and enhancing biodiversity in relation to Wales. This list supersedes the duty in Section 42 of the NERC Act 2006. In addition to this marine habitats can be protected under the OSPAR Convention, which has established a list of 'threatened and/or declining species and habitats' in the North-East Atlantic.
This spatial dataset details the extent and location of those marine habitats classed of 'Principal Importance' under Section 7 and are regarded as 'threatened or declining' under OSPAR in Wales.
Habitats include: Carbonate Reefs, Estuarine Rock, Honeycomb Worm Sabellaria alveolata, Intertidal Underboulder, Mud habitats in deep water, Musculus Discors Green crenella Beds, Blue Mussel Beds (listed under OSPAR aswell), Fragile Sponge and Anthozoans (listed under OSPAR aswell), Horse Mussel Modiolus Bed (listed under OSPAR aswell), Intertidal Mudflats (listed under OSPAR aswell), Maerl Beds live and dead (listed under OSPAR aswell), Sabellaria spinulosa reef (listed under OSPAR aswell), Saline Lagoons (listed under OSPAR aswell), Saltmarsh, Seagrass Beds (listed under OSPAR aswell), Seapens And Burrowing Megafauna (listed under OSPAR aswell), Peat Clay Exposures (listed under OSPAR aswell), Sheltered Muddy Gravel (listed under OSPAR aswell), Subtidal Mix Mud Sediments (listed under OSPAR aswell), Tide Swept Channels (listed under OSPAR aswell), Oyster Beds (OSPAR only).
