1919b3e9e30b3208557f95f0350e1cb0 English dataset NatureScot (HQ Inverness) data_supply@nature.scot pointOfContact 2025-05-29 MEDIN 3.1.2 EPSG Geodetic Parameter Registry 2021-01-06 revision OSGB 1936 / British National Grid 2000 Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) Sanday intertidal broad-scale mapping survey 2001-02-01 publication GB-SCT-SNH-ME-000-MRSNH0010000001E-SAND NS-000056 NatureScot project ID The island of Sanday in the Orkney Islands has a low-lying, indented coastline with extensive rocky shores and headlands broken by long, clean sand beaches and muddy inlets. A large section of the island has been proposed as a candidate Special Area of Conservation (cSAC) to protect the common seals, the subtidal reefs and the intertidal sediments. During the summer of 2000, a comprehensive biotope mapping survey of the shores was commissioned by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) with the objective of producing broad-scale biotope maps of the intertidal habitats. These would be used to inform SNH's development of conservation objectives and the future management of the site. The survey was carried out in Phase 1 level of detail (Hiscock, 1996; Wyn et al., 2000) using the current (at the time of analysis) national Marine Biotope Classification (Connor et al., 1997a, b). A shoreline length of approximately 73km and an area of 14.7km2 were mapped during this project. The 53 biotopes recorded were combined into 33 biotope groups for presentation on the maps which included an overview of the shore biology as well as maps showing the distribution of biotopes around the island. The coastline was divided into nine broad shore types for the purposes of this report. The survey was divided into 39 sites and within each site the biotopes recorded were listed. Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), Headquaters Data Manager 01463 725000 data_supply@nature.scot owner NatureScot (HQ Inverness) NatureScot Data Manager data_supply@nature.scot custodian Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), Headquaters Data Manager 01463 725000 data_supply@nature.scot originator Esther Hughes Data Archive for Seabed Species and Habitats (DASSH) Data Manager 01752 633102 dassh.enquiries@mba.ac.uk distributor notPlanned Marine Environmental Data and Information Network MEDIN metadata record availability 2025-05-29 revision NDGO0005 NDGO0005 2025-05-29 revision Habitats and biotopes GEMET - INSPIRE themes, version 1.0 2021-09-28 revision Habitat characterisation Habitat extent Macroalgae and seagrass taxonomy-related counts Sediment grain size parameters Zoobenthos taxonomic abundance Zoobenthos taxonomy-related counts SeaDataNet Parameter Discovery Vocabulary 2021-09-28 revision otherRestrictions Not for navigational use; SNH copyright data which is available for re-use under government licence terms: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/ otherRestrictions no restrictions to public access English 8-bit variable size UCS Transfer Format, based on ISO/IEC 10646 biota environment geoscientificInformation oceans -3.0480 -2.3542 59.0627 59.4257 SeaVox salt and freshwater body gazetteer 2021-01-06 creation North Sea Charting Progress 2 Sea Areas 2021-01-06 creation Scottish Continental Shelf 2000-07-31 2000-08-09 SeaVoX Vertical Co-ordinate Coverages 2021-01-06 revision circalittoral SeaVoX Vertical Co-ordinate Coverages 2021-01-06 revision infralittoral SeaVoX Vertical Co-ordinate Coverages 2021-01-06 revision littoral Howson, C. M. (2000) Intertidal survey of Sanday cSAC and SPA. Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report F00PA26 (Unpublished report); White, W. H., Foster-Smith, R. L. & Sotheran, I. S. (2000) Broad scale survey and mapping of seabed biota: Sanday kelp beds. Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report F99PA06. Database Marine Recorder Documents Published reports Geographic Information System Shapefiles dataset Commission Regulation (EU) No 1089/2010 of 23 November 2010 implementing Directive 2007/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards interoperability of spatial data sets and services 2010-12-08 publication The 53 biotopes recorded were combined into 33 biotope groups for presentation on the maps which included an overview of the shore biology as well as maps showing the distribution of biotopes around the island. Where two biotopes were present in an area of shore and could not be satisfactorily separated, these were mapped as mosaics. The minimum area of the biotopes was approximately 5 x 5 m. Biotopes covering a discrete smaller area were included either as target notes or, where there were several small patches within a larger biotope, as subsidiary biotopes. No species data from these sites has been entered into Marine Recorder (it is not clear whether any was collected). The samples are entered as a series of lines (Which presumably represent the extent of the site) and it is not apparent where in the site the individual biotope determinations apply; reference to the GIS products would likely give a better representation of the biotope distribution. One of the aims of the project was to store the data in SNH GIS ArcView. The maps were digitised and the GIS project compiled by SeaMap at Newcastle University. Ordnance Survey National Grid coordinate reference system was used. Maps were prepared for digitising and associated survey data were entered into Excel spreadsheets. These spreadsheets were subsequently modified for importing into GIS by SeaMap, as described in Howson (2000).