2011 Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) Scotland Didemnum vexillum records

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Marine Environmental Data & Information Network
Last updated:
17 August 2023
Topic:
Not added
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Summary

The carpet sea squirt (Didemnum vexillum) is an invasive non-native species of colonial sea squirt that has recently been found in England, Ireland, Wales and at one location in the Clyde, on the west coast of Scotland. The potential ecological and economic impacts of this species are significant. A rapid response eradication programme in Holyhead Harbour is currently underway, showing signs of some success so far. However, it is not known how far this species has spread within the UK, and surveys are underway in England and Wales to determine its distribution. It is crucial to know as soon as possible how far it has spread, as this information will determine what the appropriate response will be - if it is confined to only a few sites, it may be possible to attempt eradication. If it is already more widespread, then containment or control measures will be more appropriate. No specific surveys targeting this species had previously been carried out in Scotland, so it was not known whether it was present just in the one marina in the Clyde or whether it was more widespread. This project involved a series of rapid assessment surveys of those marinas and harbours thought to be most likely at risk from establishment (e.g. those in the Clyde and on the west coast of Scotland) and will inform SNH’s policy for dealing with this species, as well as the wider UK policy for response.

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Link to the data Format File added Data preview
A link to the DASSH website N/A 17 August 2023 Not available
DOI URL N/A 17 August 2023 Not available

Additional information

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Added to data.gov.uk
2023-08-09
Access contraints
No restrictions on public access. This survey recorded no species or biotope occurrences that SNH consider as sensitive. All records may therefore be released in response to requests covered by Environmental Information Regulations or Freedom of Information Regulations. Additionally its re use and dissemination is permissible under Open Government Licence terms. Any re use of this data will acknowledge the copyright owner.
Harvest GUID
9c646054b134f38044d4f656a3989772
Extent
Latitude: 55.7773° to 55.7717°
Longitude: -4.8627° to -4.8540°
Spatial reference system
urn:ogc:def:crs:EPSG::4326
Dataset reference date
2016-02-22 (publication)
Frequency of update
notPlanned
Responsible party
NatureScot (HQ Inverness) (originator, custodian); Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), Headquaters (originator); Data Archive for Seabed Species and Habitats (DASSH) (custodian)
ISO 19139 resource type
dataset
Metadata language
eng
Source Metadata
XML
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Open Government Licence