Scotland WFD Coastal waterbody classifications 2022

This feature class was created using the OS boundary line High Water dataset, OS Open Map Local dataset and UKHO Open Data 3 nautical mile limit. The original data was created for the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC). Article 2, clause 7 of the WFD defines coastal waterbodies as ‘…a surface water on the landward side of a line, every point of which is at a distance of one nautical mile on the seaward side from the nearest point of the baseline from which the breadth of territorial waters is measured, extending where appropriate up to the outer limit of transitional waters’. Due to the large number of islands in Scotland, coastal waters were defined by territorial waters 3 nautical miles from the Mean High Water coastline covering all water within the 3 nautical mile territorial limit. Dataset includes the most recent overall classification information.