Celtic Seas ecoregion – Ecosystem Overview

The Celtic Seas ecoregion covers the northwestern European continental shelf and seas, from western Brittany in the south to north of Shetland. The oceanography and climate of the region is strongly influenced by conditions in the adjacent Atlantic Ocean, particularly along the continental shelf edge where water exchange occurs between the ocean and shallow shelf seas (< 200m depth). Ocean currents support strong linkages between the Celtic Seas ecoregion and its neighbouring ecoregions. The Rockall Trough is an important pathway for the transport of warmer and more saline water from the Northeast Atlantic to more northerly ecoregions. Water transport on the shelf is primarily from south to north, and prevailing southwesterly winds from the west and south.