North Western Waters Atlas 3rd Edition

The third edition of the North Western Waters (NWW) Atlas is a joint \npublication between the Marine Institute and the NWW Advisory Council. This Atlas is \nintended for policy makers, managers and interested stakeholders and aims to provide a \nbroad overview of the ecosystem of the NWW Advisory Council (AC) area. We have \ntried to make the science as clear and concise as possible, and keep technical language to a minimum. The information has been presented through a blend of text, tables, figures and images. There is a glossary of terms and a list of more detailed scientific references \nfor those interested in following up certain issues. \nThe first and second editions of the Atlas, published in 2009 and 2011 respectively under \nthe MEFEPO project, were extremely well received and this new edition has been \nmodified in response to stakeholder feedback to provide updated information on the \nphysical and chemical features, habitat types, biological features, birds, mammals, fishing activity and other human activities taking place within the NWW region. We have \nreceived valuable contributions from non-governmental organisations, which use citizen \nscience to collect information on the marine ecosystem around us. Whenever citizen \nscience is used to complement the existing knowledge, this is clearly marked in the \nrelevant sections. The North Western Waters (NWW) area is situated in the north east Atlantic off the west coast of Ireland and Scotland, and extends into the Celtic Sea, Irish Sea and the English Channel.