Seabird concentrations are especially vulnerable to oil pollution, and may become contaminated by oil wherever concentrations occur at sea, sometimes at considerable distance from the coast. This data highlights the most vulnerable aggregations for each month of the year in offshore waters based on their abundance in each statistical rectangle and their vulnerability to the effects of oil pollution. The data was compiled in 1995. Points represent centre of 1/4 ICES Rectangle (15' lat x 30' long).
Seabird observations were captured manually or electronically from navigational equipment (e.g. GPS). Calculated values were derived from sea surveys collected for the European Seabirds at Sea Database.
The monthly data layers are visualised on Natural England's MAGIC site http://magic.defra.gov.uk/MagicMap.aspx.
For more information about seabirds at sea data please see JNCC's website http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/page-4469.