Record Species

Records of marine species from people exploring the sea around Northern Ireland are important for monitoring trends and protecting our marine environment

Report Your Sightings!

Records of marine species from people exploring the sea around Northern Ireland are vital for monitoring and protecting our local marine environment.

Report your sightings, with accompanying photos, online at CEDaR Online Recording, or by using the iRecord smartphone app.

All marine species data collected within the Northern Ireland marine environment are collated and stored by the Centre for Environmental Data and Recording (CEDaR).

You can view and scrutinise this data on the NBN Atlas Northern Ireland.

*Find out why reporting observations within our Marine Protected Areas is also vital for protecting Marine Biodiversity.

Marine Species ID Guides

In order to encourage and support marine recording in Northern Ireland, we have produced some brand new guides to help you identify, and record, locally occurring species!

View or download these ID guides here:

A Diver’s Guide to Identifying and Recording 10 of Northern Ireland’s Marine Invasive Species

Guide to NI Rocky Shore Species

Guide to NI Invasive Marine Species

Short Guide to NI Invasive Marine Species

Divers’ Guide to NI Species of Interest

*To request a hard copy of the guides, email info@dive-ni.org.

Online Resources

There are many other online resources for helping with species identification:

Marine Biodiversity Data Portal NI

Encyclopedia of Marine Life of Britain and Ireland

NBN Atlas Northern Ireland