Data Sharing

The Authority has a number of datasets outlined below which are available for sharing. Please fill in this google form if you would like to request any of the data outlined below, please fill in the Google form via the link below. Sussex IFCA will aim to respond to all requests within 20 working days.

Request Data

Small Fish Survey Data

Excel spreadsheet with ongoing small fish survey data from 2010 onwards. Data includes species abundance and individual length for fyke nets, seine nets and beam trawl surveys. Juvenile fish surveys have occurred across 6 sites within the Sussex IFCA District; Rye Bay, Cuckmere, Tide Mills, Pagham Harbour, Medmerry Realignment Zone, and Chichester Harbour.

Small Fish Surveys

Fishing Effort Grids

Since 2001, Sussex IFCA has collected data on observed fishing activity whilst on sea patrols. This data can be used to create maps which show levels of effort for different fishing methods over time, which is useful for fisheries management. See latest report for more information on methodology.

Fishing Effort Grids 2019-2023

Kingmere Bream Data

As part of an adaptive management plan, Sussex IFCA collect annual data on black seabream within Kingmere MCZ between April and June each year whilst on patrols. When collecting data, officers will record; vessel home port, number of people on board, number of rods in use, area fished in trip, how many hours were spent fishing in each area, number of fish caught by species, number of fish that were landed by species, length of bream, sex of bream, trip frequency.

Kingmere MCZ

Kelp Transects Locations

Locations of towed underwater video surveys between the areas of Selsey and Shoreham-by-Sea, in areas where the Nearshore Trawling Byelaw would be later implemented in March 2021. The data from this research was used to understand the condition of kelp before any changes in management were made. Any future kelp surveys can be compared to this project to understand the effectiveness of the Nearshore Trawling Byelaw and allow us to determine whether further management is required.

Sussex Kelp Reports 2019 - 2020 Sussex Kelp Recovery Project

SCHIP1 Mapping Project

Shapefiles containing most up to date SCHIP1 habitat map with 2019 extension. SCHIP1 map was created by CCO on behalf of the Sussex IFCA and includes a EUNIS level 3 habitat map of benthic habitats. Currently the map extends from Selsey to Dungeness, and extends 1km seaward. In 2019, this map was extended to approximately 4km seaward between Selsey and Shoreham, and includes the boundary of Selsey Bill and the Hounds MCZ in it’s entirety. In addition to a EUNIS level 3 habitat map, the SCHIP1 project also created output maps detailing; basic seabed habitats, anthropogenic features, and substrate type.

SCHIP1 Report 2016

SCHIP2 Mapping Project

Shapefiles containing the output of the SCHIP2 habitat maps. These layers were created with the use of the ground truth data points which produced Voronoi polygons where the boundaries were drawn equidistant between data points. This map covers the entirety of the Sussex IFCA district and was initially produced by the University of Brighton on behalf of the Sussex IFCA.

SCHIP2 Report

Ecosystem Services Mapping Project

The Voronoi polygon method was used to identify marine management priority areas by mapping environmental value and fishing intensity pressures, based on seabed habitats and their ecosystem services provision, diversity and sensitivity. Priority areas in Sussex coastal waters were identified by mapping environmental value and fishing intensity on a grid with 1km2 cells.

Byelaw Boundaries

Sussex IFCA byelaw coordinates can be found in the relevant byelaws on our website. We are not able to provide shapefiles for byelaws. For a visualisation of these, please see the Kingfisher Gear Restrictions website: https://kingfisherrestrictions.org/. Please note, the Kingfisher Gear Restrictions website is not affiliated with Sussex IFCA, is for general information only and provides a consolidated and simplified gear focused view of all current commercial fishing restrictions in UK waters. For up-to-date byelaw information, please always refer to the Sussex IFCA byelaws.

Sussex IFCA Regulations

Marine Mammal Sightings

Officers often observe the presence of marine mammals throughout the IFCA district. When sightings occur, an IFCO will note the date, time, number of individual cetaceans, species of cetacean, and coordinates of sighting.

Beachy Head East MCZ Transects

Towed video and ROV surveys within Beachy Head East MCZ in order to improve confidence for the designated habitats of subtidal chalk and Ross worm Sabellaria spinulosa reef. The survey also investigated the presence of blue mussel beds which although are not a designated feature of BHE MCZ, still act as a key habitat for several species. 10 towed video deployments were undertaken over the site, with each tow taking approximately 10 mins with the vessel moving at approximately 1mph. Additionally, a BlueROV2 small remotely operated vehicle (ROV) with a live-streaming HD video, was used to conduct roving swim surveys over two areas previously reported as containing of Ross worm reef (DEFRA 2019) on 20th July 2021. Three videos were collected (duration 15, 2 & 15mins) over one location and two videos (duration 7 & 10 mins) were conducted over a second location.

Beachy Head East MCZ

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