Aquaculture Resource Area

The Aquaculture RA was derived predominantly from a study by ABPmer (2015), ‘A Spatial Assessment of the Potential for Aquaculture in Welsh Waters’ commissioned by the Welsh Government. The project required the development of spatial data layers to highlight potential aquaculture areas based on suitable natural resources, other marine uses, and proximity to essential infrastructure. In addition to the areas identified by ABPmer this dataset includes areas identified by the Welsh Government as possible resource areas. These additional areas were identified based on local knowledge but may not be comprehensive. ************************************************************* Derivation of RAs Resource Areas (RAs) are broad areas that describe for some sectors the distribution of a particular resource that has the potential to be used or is used. RA derivation does not include environmental factors, the assessment of which must be undertaken before issuing a licence; at which point more detail is known on any proposal. Please refer to the full RA derivation text for this sector and others.