GeoSea
_{Marine sciences geoportal — oceanographic, ecological & climate data hub}

---

Overview

The Problem

Marine science produces enormous quantities of data. Biological surveys, oceanographic measurements, fleet tracking records, market price series, ecological habitat maps — the raw material for evidence-based fisheries management and marine conservation exists in abundance. The problem is that it lives in dozens of separate places. EUMOFA publishes fish market data. EMODnet hosts bathymetry and habitat layers. The EU Fleet Register tracks vessel characteristics. ISTAT holds national statistics. Each source has its own interface, its own format, its own conventions. A researcher who needs to understand whether declining catches in a specific area correlate with changes in Posidonia cover, fleet composition, and market price trends must visit five different portals, download five different datasets in five different formats, and assemble them manually before any analysis can begin.

This is not a data shortage. It is a data access problem.

The Gap

The people who most need integrated marine data — fisheries managers, policy makers, researchers preparing regulatory submissions, NGOs monitoring ecosystem health — are rarely database engineers. They need answers, not raw tables. They need to see a trend line, not query a SQL database. They need to compare two regions, not wrangle incompatible file formats.

At the same time, the institutional portals that do exist are built for data publication, not data exploration. They expose downloads, not insights. A researcher can download a CSV from EUMOFA, but they cannot instantly visualise how red mullet prices in GSA 11 evolved between 2010 and 2020 alongside fleet size in that same area. That kind of question requires either custom coding or hours of manual work — a barrier that pushes many stakeholders toward gut feel and anecdote rather than data-driven decisions.

The Solution

GeoSea is a web-based geoportal for marine sciences, built under Italy's Piano Nazionale Triennale della Pesca e dell'Acquacoltura. It aggregates data from authoritative open sources — EMODnet, EUMOFA, the EU Fleet Register, the STECF Annual Economic Report, and ISTAT — into a single R Shiny application with a unified, interactive interface.

Users do not download data and process it elsewhere. They select what they want to see — a species group, a geographic area (GSA), a time period, a vessel segment, an ecological layer — and GeoSea builds the visualisation on the fly. Data that previously required cross-referencing multiple institutional portals becomes explorable in minutes, without writing a single line of code. Biological, ecological, economic, and fleet data can be filtered, combined, and compared within the same dashboard session.

The platform is designed for a wide audience: researchers who need reliable trend data for publications, managers who need a fast overview before a meeting, policy advisors who need to explain complex dynamics to non-specialist audiences, and educators who need accessible visualisations of marine ecosystems.

---

Key Features

Feature	Description
Unified data access	Biological, ecological, economic, and fleet data from six authoritative sources in one interface
Interactive filtering dashboard	Select by GSA, gear type, vessel segment, time period, and variable category — charts update instantly
Interactive map of Italy	Clickable GSA-based map as the spatial entry point to all data layers
Cross-source data interpolation	Combine variables from different datasets in a single chart — e.g. fleet effort against ecosystem indicators
Ecosystem variables module	EMODnet layers including bathymetry, Posidonia meadows, coralligenous habitats, Essential Fish Habitat, and IUCN-protected species
Economic variables module	EUMOFA price trends, trade volumes, and commodity group breakdowns — weekly, monthly, and annual
Fleet register module	EU Fleet Register data filtered by GSA, gear type, harbour, and tonnage class
Fishing statistics module	STECF-sourced effort, capacity, income, and employment indicators by fleet segment over time
Automated report generation	Export personalised PDF or XLS reports based on selected datasets and parameters
Updated historical time series	Regular updates to long-run series for trend analysis and long-term resource management

---

Methodology

1. Requirements definition — Stakeholder needs identified through a structured questionnaire distributed to researchers, managers, and institutional users; results prioritised development focus on economic, biological, and ecosystem data with interactive visualisation.
2. Architecture design — R Shiny framework selected for its capacity to build reactive, server-driven web applications without requiring a separate frontend stack; modular code structure designed for maintainability and future extension.
3. Data collection and harmonisation — Open data ingested from EUMOFA, EMODnet (seven thematic portals), EU Fleet Register, STECF Annual Economic Report, and ISTAT; data formatted and stored in a backend database (MySQL/PostgreSQL with geospatial extensions) with standardised schemas across sources.
4. UI implementation — Reactive Shiny UI built with input widgets (dropdowns, radio buttons, date range selectors), dynamic charts, interactive Leaflet maps, and data tables; layout optimised for usability across screen sizes.
5. Spatial data integration — EMODnet GIS layers integrated as toggleable map overlays including bathymetry contours, Posidonia oceanica meadows, Maerl beds, coralligeno outcrop, Essential Fish Habitat polygons, and MSFD Benthic Broad Habitat Types.
6. Cross-source interpolation — Backend logic enables users to combine variables from different source datasets within a single chart output, surfacing relationships that are invisible when data remains in separate portals.
7. Report generation module — Automated export functionality allowing users to generate PDF or XLS documents from any combination of selected data and time parameters, ready for use in reports, presentations, and regulatory submissions.
8. Historical series updates — Pipeline established for periodic ingestion of updated data releases from all source institutions, maintaining the relevance of trend analyses over time.

---

Screenshots

Figure 1 — Home page. The GeoSea home page is the main entry point to the platform. On the left sits the full navigation menu, giving users direct access to all sections: Fishing Statistics, Fleet Register, Ecosystem Variables, and Economic Variables. At the centre of the page is a large interactive map of Italy showing the maritime area divided by GSA (Geographical Sub-Area) — the standard spatial units used in Mediterranean fisheries management. Clicking on a GSA region filters data across all modules to that specific area. Below the map, summary widgets present the platform's three core functions — data archiving, ecosystem visualisation, and marine governance — providing a clear orientation for new users. The header displays key headline statistics from the loaded dataset, such as total vessels, tonnage, and fishing days, giving an immediate quantitative overview before any deeper navigation begins.

Figure 2 — Fishing statistics. This module is the primary analytical tool for exploring economic and effort data from the Italian and EU fishing fleet, sourced from the STECF Annual Economic Report. The top section shows a summary panel for the currently loaded report, displaying headline figures for the selected period: number of vessels, total fishing days, and total catch value. Below it, the interactive filtering dashboard allows users to define exactly which slice of data they want to visualise. Filters include country, gear type (DRB, PGP, DTS, TM, PS, TBB, PMP, HOK), fleet segment (VL1218, VL0612, VL0006, etc.), variable category (Expenditure, Capital, Effort, Capacity, Income, Employment), and specific variable (e.g. Fishing days, Energy costs, Engaged crew, FTE national). Once selections are made, the chart below updates immediately to show the time series for the chosen variable across the selected period, typically spanning 2008 to 2020. Alongside the chart, a searchable data table shows the raw values behind the visualisation. This combination of chart and table makes the module useful both for quick visual trend spotting and for precise data extraction.

Figure 3 — Fleet register. This module integrates data from the EU Fleet Register, the official European Commission database tracking all fishing vessels operating under EU member state flags. The page opens with a summary showing the total number of vessels currently registered for the selected area, their combined tonnage (GT), and total engine power (kW). Below, the filtering dashboard allows users to select a specific GSA from a dropdown — the map on the left immediately highlights the selected area and updates all downstream data to that geographic scope. The right panel shows a horizontal bar chart of the number of vessels broken down by gear type (LLS, OTB, PS, GNS, DRB, GND, LHP, PTM, NO, LTL), making the gear composition of the local fleet immediately visible at a glance. Below the map, a searchable table shows the fleet broken down by harbour (marineria), with each row displaying the gear-by-gear vessel count for that port. This view is particularly useful for understanding how fishing pressure is distributed across harbours and gear types within a specific management area.

Figure 4 — Ecosystem variables. This module connects to EMODnet — the European Marine Observation and Data Network — to overlay ecological and habitat data directly onto an interactive map of the Mediterranean. On the right, a layer selector panel allows users to choose which ecological information to display: bathymetry contours, mean depth (rainbow colour scale), Posidonia oceanica meadows, Maerl bed occurrences, coralligeno outcrop, Essential Fish Habitat polygons, IUCN-status species distributions, EUSeaMap Biological Zone Group, MSFD Benthic Broad Habitat Types, and EUSeaMap Substrate Type Group. A GSA selector at the top filters the view to a specific management area. As layers are toggled on and off, the map updates in real time, allowing users to visually understand the habitat context of any fishing area — for example, identifying whether a high-effort zone overlaps with an Essential Fish Habitat or a protected species distribution. Below the map, an EMODnet layer content table displays the raw polygon or point data behind the selected layer, with searchable records including geometry identifiers and spatial metadata. A download button allows users to export the selected layer for use in external GIS tools.

Figure 5 — Economic variables. This module draws on EUMOFA — the European Market Observatory for Fisheries and Aquaculture Products — to provide a comprehensive view of fish market dynamics across Italy and the EU. The page is structured around three tabs: Bubble Map, EUMOFA data, and Trends. The Bubble Map view plots price against commodity group in a scatter format, colour-coded by species category, giving an immediate sense of relative market values across product types. The EUMOFA data tab provides a detailed data explorer where users can select a date range, choose which variable to display on each axis (e.g. Price vs. Value EUR, or Price vs. Main commercial species), and apply colour grouping by commodity group, species, or presentation type — generating a fully customised scatter or bubble chart. The Trends tab plots time series of price or volume (Volume_Kg) for selected commodity groups over a user-defined date range, with the option to group trend lines by location, commodity group, commercial species, or presentation. Below every chart, a searchable data table presents the raw EUMOFA records with columns for year, month, country, location, commodity group, commercial species, ERS code, size, preservation type, presentation, unit value in EUR, volume in kg, and price — making this module equally useful for visual analysis and precise data extraction.

---

Data Sources

GeoSea integrates open data from six authoritative institutional sources, each covering a distinct dimension of the marine and fisheries system.

The EU Fleet Register is the European Commission's official database of all fishing vessels operating under EU member state flags, containing administrative identifiers, technical characteristics (length, tonnage, engine power, gear type), and historical event records for each vessel. The EUMOFA (European Market Observatory for Fisheries and Aquaculture Products) provides market intelligence covering 108 commercial species and 12 product groups, with price, volume, and value data from first sale through to retail, updated weekly, monthly, and annually across the full supply chain. EMODnet (European Marine Observation and Data Network) delivers pan-European marine spatial data across seven thematic portals — bathymetry, biology, chemistry, geology, human activities, physics, and seabed habitats — following a collect-once-use-many-times philosophy that standardises and opens data from hundreds of previously siloed organisations. The STECF Annual Economic Report (STECF 22-06) provides structural and economic analysis of the EU fishing fleet, covering effort, capacity, employment, income, and costs by fleet segment, with trend data from 2008 to 2020 and forecasts for subsequent years. ISTAT (Istituto Nazionale di Statistica) contributes national-level statistical data on Italian fisheries and aquaculture. All sources are publicly available open data, and GeoSea's update pipeline is designed to ingest new releases as they become available.

---

Scientific Context

GeoSea was developed in the framework of the Italian Piano Nazionale Triennale della Pesca e dell'Acquacoltura (National Three-Year Plan for Fisheries and Aquaculture), which mandates the development of tools to support evidence-based management of Italian marine resources. The platform directly operationalises the principle that good governance requires not only good data, but accessible data — and that the gap between scientific knowledge and practical decision-making is often a data usability problem rather than a data availability problem.

By integrating biological, ecological, economic, and fleet data in a single interactive environment, GeoSea supports the kind of multi-dimensional analysis that sustainable fisheries management requires: understanding not just catch volumes, but the ecosystem context in which those catches occur and the economic conditions of the fleets responsible for them.

---

Stack

R Shiny Leaflet EMODnet EUMOFA PostgreSQL PostGIS HTML CSS JavaScript

---

← Back to Partica