EMODnet Human Activities aims to facilitate access to existing marine data on activities carried out in EU waters, by building a single entry point for geographic information on human uses of the ocean.

The database on fishing effort in the EU waters was created in 2020 by Cogea for the European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODnet). It is the result of the elaboration of the Economic and Transversal data (19-06 - AER, Version 1.2) of the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) of the EU Commission (JRC). STECF data have been related to georeferenced FAO's fishing statistical areas and to Geographical subareas (GSAs) of the FAO's General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM). Days at sea, Fishing days, GT fishing days, kW fishing days data are provided for each available FAO fishing statistical area and GSA, by year of reference, Country, fishing technology, vessel length classes, supra region and geographical indicator. The dataset is updated yearly, as soon as new data from STECF are released. It covers a time series from 2008 to 2018.

The datasets on fishing intensity in the EU waters were created in 2021 by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES). Fisheries overview data concern: i) the spatial distribution of average annual fishing effort (mW fishing hours) by ecoregion and gear type (Beam trawls, Bottom otter trawls, Bottom seines, Dredges, Pelagic trawls and seines, Static gears, where available) in the Azores and Bay of Biscay and the Iberian Coast (2018–2021), Baltic Sea (2019-2020), Barents Sea, Celtic Seas, Faroes, Greater North Sea, Icelandic Waters, Norwegian Sea and Oceanic Northeast Atlantic (2017-2020). Fishing effort data are only shown for vessels >12 m having vessel monitoring systems (VMS); ii) the average annual subsurface (top) and surface (bottom) mobile bottom contacting fishing gear (i.e. bottom otter trawls, bottom seines, dredges, beam trawls) disturbance by ecoregion in the Bay of Biscay and the Iberian Coast (2018–2021), Baltic Sea (2019-2020), Barents Sea, Celtic Seas, Faroes, Greater North Sea, Icelandic Waters, Norwegian Sea and Oceanic Northeast Atlantic (2017-2020), expressed as average swept-area ratios (SAR). Due to data confidentiality issues, VMS/logbook data are anonymized and aggregated in a 0.05×0.05 degree grid prior to submission to ICES, using the C-square geocode system (polygons). The dataset is updated yearly and as soon as new data from ICES are released.