Biological Valuation Map of the Belgian Part of the North Sea

The biological valuation map (BVM) of the Belgian Part of the North Sea (BPNS) is a map describing the biological value of the seafloor from 1 to 5, 5 being very high, 4 high, 3 medium, 2 low, 1 very low. The classification is based on the overlap of several layers of information which includes an updated distribution map of the gravel beds, an habitat suitability map of Lanice conchilega, 5 habitat suitability maps of the 5 macrobenthic communities of the BPNS and a large dataset of macrobenthos, epibenthos and demersal fish samples (1994-2018).