Working Group on Marine Habitat Mapping (WGMHM; outputs from 2023 meeting)

The Working Group on Marine Habitat Mapping (WGMHM) coordinates the review of habitat classification and mapping activities in the ICES area and promotes the standardization of approaches and techniques.

The current report summarises the activities of the group between 2021 and 2023. In this period much of the activities related to supporting the development of the use of Predicted Habitat Models (PHMs) into the ICES advice process regarding Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (VMEs). Specifically, the WGMHM applied the criteria developed during the Workshop on the Use of Predictive Habitat Models in ICES Advice (WKPHM) to evaluate the quality of 33 published VME models. The results indicated significant differences in the quality of the models, with the proportion of criteria scored as "desired" or "required" ranging between 23 and 98% (median = 73%). During the review process some limitations of the criteria become evident, and modifications were proposed to facilitate future reviews. In addition, WGMHM produced a data product (shapefile) of VME elements, defined as geomorphological features that provide habitat for VMEs. These were used in two scenarios (scenarios B and E) used during the VME advice process to delineate areas where VMEs exist or are likely to exist.

This report also includes a review of recent advances in marine habitat mapping methods including hyperspectral imagery, multifrequency acoustics, and photogrammetry, as well as a review of the uses of habitat maps.