 This presentation will provide you with an overview of some technical aspects of the Welsh National Marine Plan with a focus on mapping including resource areas, strategic resource areas and the marine planning portal. There is a further presentation on the marine plan content which includes information on the plan vision objectives and policies. The marine plan includes a range of maps showing natural resources, management measures, areas authorised for certain activity and patterns of human use. Some of the sector chapters include one or more maps to guide sector policies and or for illustrative purposes. Given the changing nature of patterns of use and natural resources and continuing development of the evidence base, all maps in the plan are indicative and liable to change. Decisions should always be taken in line with best available evidence. Users should refer to current sector maps and other relevant spatial information in applying plan policy. These are available on the marine planning portal. The marine planning portal allows you to view maps online. The portal is an interactive planning tool that is intended to support the marine planning process by raising awareness and understanding of marine data that is readily available for Welsh Seas, providing an understanding of the marine planning evidence base currently available, providing interested parties with the opportunity to comment on the evidence base and the need or availability of further spatial evidence. Over time we will be adding new layers and refreshing existing layers as the evidence base develops. The marine plan identifies resource areas relevant to some sectors. These are broad areas that describe the distribution of a particular resource that is or has the potential to be used from a technical perspective. For example, taking into account factors such as water depth and how this relates to sector-specific technology. Resource areas have been identified in relation to aggregates, aquaculture, tidal range energy, tidal stream energy, and wave energy by a process of spatial evidence collection and interpretation. They may change as our understanding improves, further evidence becomes available, and or sector technology or capability develops. The marine plan allows for the introduction and refinement of strategic resource areas as a subset of a wider resource area. SRAs are a tool to improve the management of marine activities, space and resources, helping to support the management of sector-sector interactions and providing a focus for further strategic planning. SRAs, when introduced, will guide related sector safeguarding policy, SAF 02, meaning that other sectors have to take account of these areas of resource interest in developing their proposals for new activity. They do not necessarily confer development sustainability, nor do they sterilize an area from development by other activities. Areas safeguarded by an SRA may reflect the long-term potential for a sector over the lifetime of this plan or beyond. There is a table on page 17 of the plan that describes the role of SRAs in underpinning the sustainable development of natural resources. The plan sets out how Welsh Government can introduce SRAs through the publication of a marine planning notice. Welsh Government will widely engage in the decision to develop an SRA and will consult formally on any proposed SRA before it is introduced. The first step will be to determine if, for a particular sector, at a particular time, there is a case for proceeding with the development of an SRA. Building a case for proceeding and deciding to develop an SRA does not mean an SRA will necessarily be introduced. It may prove technically challenging to identify a meaningful SRA which will provide a clear benefit to the relevant sector. The marine planning portal and SRAs are part of the spatial approach being taken by Welsh Government to support plan implementation through understanding spatial opportunities and constraints in relation to sustainable resource use. This approach is in line with the UK Marine Policy Statements direction to provide clear spatial and locally relevant expression of policy, implementation and delivery. The spatial approach involves developing supplementary marine planning tools and spatial evidence to support the implementation of planned policy, including through the marine planning portal which will make spatial policy and supporting evidence available to marine users through identifying strategic resource areas, SRAs, where appropriate, in order to activate WNMP safeguarding policy to safeguard areas of resource of particular importance to specific marine sectors and by developing locally focused sector locational guidance. Welsh Government in collaboration with NRW and other stakeholders is working to develop sector locational guidance for specific marine sectors. Sector locational guidance will present an interpreted sector specific spatial planning evidence base, set out environmental and socioeconomic opportunities for and constraints to sustainable use in relation to the sector, consider interactions with and explore opportunities for co-location with other sectors. Providing clarity through sector locational guidance on the distribution of natural resources within our seas and on opportunities for and constraints on their sustainable use can facilitate meaningful planning. It can also support the future refinement of marine planning. Sector locational guidance also aims to facilitate cross-sector dialogue and collaboration on sustainable resource use and protection of the marine environment. It is likely the main focus for developing sector locational guidance will be on supporting novel and or developing sectors such as wave or tidal stream energy or aquaculture which could benefit most from the approach. There is also likely to be particular opportunity to support strategic planning for other sectors. Once produced the ambition is to make sector locational guidance available as an online resource with interactive mapping and relevant spatial data layers incorporated into the planning portal. Sector locational guidance will be developed in accordance with Wales sustainable development principle and the five ways of working set out within the well-being of future generations act. It will also be informed by the sustainable management of natural resources principles and the duties set out by the UK marine policy statement. The development of sector locational guidance will not be dependent on the development of an SRA for that sector. It is a possibility that depending on the need for and benefit of doing so both or either or an SRA and or sector locational guidance could be developed for the same sector. In any event the interpreted evidence presented by sector locational guidance would form an important part of the evidence in forming any subsequent development of an SRA for the same sector. Effective marine spatial planning requires good quality spatial evidence that can be used to inform decision making. To help meet this requirement the sustainable management of marine natural resources project funded by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and Welsh Government is developing the ecological evidence base in relation to tidal stream energy, wave energy and aquaculture resources in the Welsh marine area to help support the sustainable development of these sectors. Information provided by this project will feed into the sector locational guidance work. Key focus areas of the project are collation and quality assessment of data, data collection in resource areas, constraints and opportunities analysis and mapping, and production of evidence packages associated with resource areas in Welsh waters. The project has assessed over 1,400 evidence sources and 420 datasets have been collated and quality assessed covering physical, chemical, biological and human environment data. Following collation and review recommendations were made on how evidence and data gaps could be addressed including through targeted studies. A key recommendation was to collect further benthic data to enhance the development of consistent quality benthic habitat maps across resource areas. Multi-beam and drop-down video surveys have been completed off Anglesey and Pembrokeshire to identify benthic features in areas of tidal stream and wave energy resource. Analysis of potential ecological constraints and opportunities related to the development of the focus sectors has been undertaken and will form a key component of the evidence packages. The evidence packages will bring together relevant guidance, advice, reports and data, providing an evidence resource to support planning and the sustainable management of marine natural resources. The sustainable management of marine natural resources project is due to complete in autumn 2020. That concludes the presentation on the technical aspects of the plan. You can view further presentations on the marine planning process, marine plan content, plan implementation and monitoring and reporting. And finally this slide provides you with further resources to help you understand and apply the plan as well as contact details for the team.