Crown
Crown copyright covers material created by civil servants, ministers and government departments and agencies. This includes legislation, government codes of practice, Ordnance Survey mapping, government reports, official press releases, government forms and many public records.
Crown copyright is legally defined under section 163 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 as works made by officers or servants of the Crown in the course of their duties.
For more details on use of Crown copyright data below please visit the gov.scot website.
If no licence is stated, the data should be acknowledged with:
© Crown Copyright, All rights reserved.
| Title | Copyright or Terms of Use |
|---|---|
| Bathing Waters (current) (SEPA WMS) |
This layer shows the extents of bathing waters defined by The Scottish Government and SEPA as required by The Revised Bathing Waters Directive (2006/7/EC. This sets standards for faecal indicator organisms in waters at designated bathing beaches. Bathing beaches are designated on the basis of their recreational use and hence risk to the public of exposure to faecal indicator organisms. |
| Defence (Military) - MoD establishments and estate |
The Ministry of Defence uses Scotland's coasts and seas. The coasts are mainly used for training and locating bases (sites vary from dockyards and airfields to coastal firing ranges). The data was provided by the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO). |
| Defence (Military) - Historic munitions disposal sites |
Approximate locations where chemical and conventional/explosive munitions were disposed at sea. As some data is derived from historical records, coordinates may be inaccurate. The location of phase 4 chemical disposal sites are unconfirmed. Includes data digitised from OSPAR, Imperial College London, and Ministry of Defence reports. |
| Marine Directorate Offices and Locations |
Marine Scotland is a Directorate of the Scottish Government and is responsible for the integrated management of Scotland's seas. This dataset shows the location of Marine Scotland laboratories, field stations, fishery offices, and policy teams throughout Scotland. Also includes home ports for marine protection vessels (MPVs) and home base for Marine Scotland aircraft. Building polygons were also added to Open Street Map to be visible on the National Marine Plan Interactive (NMPi) basemap. |
| Local Coastal Partnerships (LCP) |
The Scottish Coastal Forum was formed in 1996 to encourage debate at national level on coastal issues. Its members advise Marine Scotland, from an operational perspective, on the development of policy relating to marine planning and licensing within a sustainable marine environment. The Forum also provides a network for circulating information and best practice in coastal management amongst its own varied membership and the wider Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) community. As of December 2022, only five Local Coastal Partnerships are still active: East Grampian Coastal Partnership, Solway Firth Partnership, Tay Estuary Forum, Forth Estuary Forum, and Moray Firth Partnership. |
| WFD Area Advisory Groups (SEPA WMS) |
Eleven multi-stakeholder area advisory groups were created across Scotland to contribute to the development and delivery of the first river basin plans.This is a Web Map Service (WMS) layer which shows Water Framework Directive (WFD) Sub Basin Districts for Scotland. |
| Regional Inshore Fisheries Groups Areas (RIFGs) |
Regional Inshore Fisheries Groups (RIFGs) are bodies that aim to improve the management of Scotland's inshore fisheries (out to twelve nautical miles) and to give commercial inshore fishermen a strong voice in wider marine management developments. The West Coast and North & East Coast RIFGs were originally established in April 2016, replacing the four IFGs that formerly covered the Scottish mainland coast. In 2020, the scope of RIFGs was extended to the 12NM limit as part of the Future Fisheries Management (FFM) policy. In 2025, the network was restructured to strengthen regional representation. A new North & North West RIFG now covers the area from Ardnamurchan Point northwards around the west coast and up to Inverness, including the Inner Hebrides north of Ardnamurchan Point. The East Coast RIFG boundary was revised and now starts at Inverness and runs clockwise down the east coast to the English border, creating a clearer separation from the new North & North West region. The current RIFG network comprises: North & North West Coast, East Coast, South West Coast, Outer Hebrides, Orkney, and Shetland (operating alongside the Shetland Shellfish Management Organisation). |
| Prospective sand and gravel resources (hidden below 1:500,000) |
On behalf of the Crown Estate, the British Geological Survey mapped the marine aggregate and mineral resources around Scotland. The data has been inferred from geological data, review of relevant literature and interpretation of boreholes. The marine aggregate resources include:
The mineral resources include:
Each of the 6 resources can be viewed as an NMPI layer. This layer displays the prospective sand and gravel resources around Scotland as mapped, on behalf of the Crown Estate, by the British Geological Survey. |
| Metallic mineral resources (hidden below 1:500,000) |
On behalf of the Crown Estate, the British Geological Survey mapped the marine aggregate and mineral resources around Scotland. The data has been inferred from geological data, review of relevant literature and interpretation of boreholes. The marine aggregate resources include:
The mineral resources include:
Each of the 6 resources can be viewed as an NMPI layer. This layer displays the metallic mineral resources around Scotland as mapped, on behalf of the Crown Estate, by the British Geological Survey. |
| Historic Aggregate Areas (Forth and Tay) |
Historic Aggregate Areas layer shows two areas (in the Firth of Forth and Firth of Tay) that have been dredged for aggregate previously but are not currently licensed. |
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