LifeWatch observatory data: genomic observations in the Belgian Part of the North Sea

In the framework of the Lifewatch marine observatory a number of fixed stations on the Belgian Part of the North Sea (BPNS) are visited on a monthly or seasonal basis using the RV Simon Stevin. A grid of nine stations covers the coastal zone and are sampled monthly. Eight additional stations, located further at sea, are sampled on a seasonal basis. This dataset contains quality controlled taxonomic diversity data based on NGS amplicon sequencing and DNA metabarcoding in the Belgian Part of the North Sea (BPNS) and the Southern Bight of the North Sea, since 2014. Data is collected through various projects, such as GEANS, LifeWatch, Jerico, Jerico-Next, OSD Summer Solstice, OSD12x and Emo-BON.