Belgium - Ocean Biodiversity Information System

Belgium

Statistics

Occurrence records	2,460,926
Species level	2,342,836
Species	3,515
Taxa	4,571
Datasets	219
Time range	1768 - 2024

Data quality

Dropped records

Dropped records	0
Not marine	26,728
No WoRMS match	322,620
No coordinates	0
Zero coordinates	0

Taxonomic issues

Marine unsure	20,441
No accepted name available	50,269

Missing and invalid fields

Field	Missing	Invalid
coordinateUncertaintyInMeters	1,816,869	11,429
eventDate	7,495	0
maximumDepthInMeters	2,540,332	0
minimumDepthInMeters	2,549,633	0
occurrenceStatus	359,445	0
scientificName	88	0
scientificNameID	361,621	16,155

Spatial issues

Records on land	1,191,962
More than 20 km from shore	5,580
Depth exceeds bathymetric depth	12

Top datasets

Dataset	Records
HG_OOSTENDE - Herring gulls (Larus argentatus, Laridae) breeding at the southern North Sea coast (Belgium) Published 2024-09-10	872,276
LBBG_ZEEBRUGGE - Lesser black-backed gulls (Larus fuscus, Laridae) breeding at the southern North Sea coast (Belgium and the Netherlands) Published 2024-09-04	371,055
European Seabirds At Sea (ESAS) Published 2025-03-20	281,773
LifeWatch observatory data: permanent Cetacean passive acoustic sensor network in the Belgian part of the North Sea Published 2025-03-20	110,590
2015_PHD_VERHELST_COD - Acoustic telemetry data for Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) in the Scheldt estuary and southern North Sea (Belgium) Published 2024-09-19	77,876
LBBG_JUVENILE - Juvenile lesser black-backed gulls (Larus fuscus, Laridae) and herring gulls (Larus argentatus, Laridae) hatched in Zeebrugge (Belgium) Published 2024-09-04	61,261
LBBG_ADULT - Lesser black-backed gulls (Larus fuscus, Laridae) breeding in Belgium Published 2024-09-04	51,696
Epibenthos and demersal fish monitoring in function of dredge disposal monitoring in the Belgian part of the North Sea Published 2025-03-20	50,322
DELTATRACK - Herring gulls (Larus argentatus, Laridae) and lesser black-backed gulls (Larus fuscus, Laridae) breeding at Neeltje Jans (Netherlands) Published 2024-09-03	48,407
2010_PHD_REUBENS - Acoustic telemetry data for Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) in the C-Power wind farm in the southern North Sea (Belgium) Published 2024-09-18	44,233

Distribution

Disclaimer: EEZ boundaries based on Marine Regions (no endorsement).

Records

Composition

detailed (class) simple

Top taxa

Unique species IUCN Red List All taxa Unique species IUCN Red List All taxa Unique species IUCN Red List All taxa

Scientific name	Records
Larus argentatus Pontoppidan, 1763 Phylum Chordata > Class Aves	912,546
Larus fuscus Linnaeus, 1758 Phylum Chordata > Class Aves	565,484
Gadus morhua Linnaeus, 1758 VU Phylum Chordata > Class Teleostei	126,453
Phocoena phocoena (Linnaeus, 1758) Phylum Chordata > Class Mammalia	115,926
Uria aalge (Pontoppidan, 1763) Phylum Chordata > Class Aves	34,354
Rissa tridactyla (Linnaeus, 1758) VU Phylum Chordata > Class Aves	33,234
Morus bassanus (Linnaeus, 1758) Phylum Chordata > Class Aves	26,538
Larus canus Linnaeus, 1758 Phylum Chordata > Class Aves	25,135
Limanda limanda (Linnaeus, 1758) Phylum Chordata > Class Teleostei	21,595
Larus marinus Linnaeus, 1758 Phylum Chordata > Class Aves	20,815

Newest species

Scientific name	Records	Since
Penicillium polonicum K.W. Zaleski, 1927 Phylum Ascomycota > Class Eurotiomycetes	1	2023
Alopias vulpinus (Bonnaterre, 1788) VU Phylum Chordata > Class Elasmobranchii	7	2022
Gobio gobio (Linnaeus, 1758) Phylum Chordata > Class Teleostei	7	2022
Coscinodiscus wailesii Gran & Angst, 1931 Phylum Heterokontophyta > Class Bacillariophyceae	9	2022
Pseudo-nitzschia multiseries (Hasle) Hasle, 1995 Phylum Heterokontophyta > Class Bacillariophyceae	46	2022
Vibrio harveyi (Johnson & Shunk, 1936) Baumann & Baumann, 1981 Phylum Proteobacteria > Class Gammaproteobacteria	30	2022
Phaeobacter gallaeciensis Ruiz-Ponte, Cilia, Lambert & Nicolas, 1998 Phylum Proteobacteria > Class Alphaproteobacteria	11	2022
Desulfosarcina variabilis Widdel, 1981 Phylum Proteobacteria > Class Deltaproteobacteria	44	2022
Vibrio penaeicida Ishimaru, Akagawa-Matsushita & Muroga, 1995 Phylum Proteobacteria > Class Gammaproteobacteria	10	2022
Lithodesmioides polymorpha Stosch, 1987 Phylum Heterokontophyta > Class Bacillariophyceae	154	2022

Data providers

Name	Records
Vlaams Instituut voor de Zee	2,017,866
Vlaamse Overheid - Instituut voor Natuur- en Bosonderzoek	1,529,239
University of Amsterdam, Faculty of Science, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics	1,243,332
Universiteit Gent	606,198
Universiteit Antwerpen	488,151
International Council for the Exploration of the Sea	305,734
Bureau Waardenburg bv – Ecology & Landscape	281,773
Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel; Research and Technology Centre	281,773
Vlaamse overheid; Beleidsdomein Omgeving; Instituut voor Natuur- en Bosonderzoek	281,773
Vlaamse overheid; Beleidsdomein Landbouw en Visserij; Instituut voor landbouw- , visserij en voedingsonderzoek; Kenniseenheid: Dier; Aquatisch Milieu en Kwaliteit	204,220