The HABMAP project was set up in response to the need for better spatial awareness of habitat distributions in the Southern Irish Sea. This work produced habitat maps of the seabed using novel predictive modelling techniques. The HABMAP Extension Project has built on the methods developed during the original project, and has repeated the modelling work using higher resolution / improved input datasets to help increase the accuracy of the predictive map outputs. The modelling work has also been extended to cover all of Welsh waters (previously cut-off at the Interreg funding boundary), notably including the Dee and Severn estuaries. The purpose of this data capture was to provide seabed habitat maps that could be used for conservation and management. Project outputs might be used in strategic planning, decision making for offshore developments, Marine Protected Area selection, sensitivity mapping and mapping essential fish habitats. However because of the way the  has been produced, and the fact that some data has been modelled and derived, the maps are not appropriate to act as the sole evidence for any specific planning or regulatory decision or assessment without further supporting studies or evidence.

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