Where North European kelp has been recorded
GBIF occurrence records for Laminaria hyperborea, mapped and tabulated by country.
24,501 georeferenced occurrence records with coordinates are published for Laminaria hyperborea through GBIF, from 20 countries or marine areas. This page maps those records and lists where they come from. Occurrence records reflect where people have looked as well as where the species lives, so well-surveyed coastlines are over-represented.
- Georeferenced records
- 24,501
- Countries / areas
- 20
- Mapped locations
- 153
- Records sampled for the map
- 3,000
- Inland records omitted
- 137
- Gbif taxonkey
- 5422383
Countries and areas with the most records (GBIF)
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — 13,920 records; France — 2,514 records; Ireland — 2,488 records; Sweden — 2,039 records; Norway — 1,585 records; Isle of Man — 384 records; Denmark — 293 records; Faroe Islands — 232 records; Portugal — 223 records; Jersey — 215 records; Guernsey — 166 records; Iceland — 166 records; Germany — 146 records; Spain — 113 records; Morocco — 10 records.
Source: GBIF Occurrence Search (taxonKey 5422383) — https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/search?taxon_key=5422383&has_coordinate=true (records CC0 / CC BY). Accessed 2026-09-23.
Marine regions with a WoRMS distribution record
European waters (ERMS scope); Irish Exclusive economic Zone; Swedish Exclusive Economic Zone; Faroe Plateau; North Sea; South European Atlantic Shelf; Celtic Seas; South and West Iceland; Temperate Northern Atlantic; Northern Norway and Finnmark.
Source: WoRMS distribution records (MarineRegions) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=145725 (CC BY 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-23.
How to read this map
The map plots a sample of 3,000 of the 24,501 records, deduplicated to a half-degree grid, so dense areas do not merge into one blob. The sample covers 16 of the 20 countries or areas with records; the areas absent from the sample hold 6 records in total (Netherlands, Canada, Svalbard and Jan Mayen, United States of America).
137 records plotting inland were omitted: for a marine species those are almost always the holding institution's coordinates rather than a collection site.
Records show where the species has been observed and reported, not a modelled range.
Source: GBIF Occurrence Search (taxonKey 5422383) — https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/search?taxon_key=5422383&has_coordinate=true (records CC0 / CC BY); WoRMS distribution records (MarineRegions) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=145725 (CC BY 4.0); Natural Earth 110m basemap — https://www.naturalearthdata.com/ (public domain). Accessed 2026-09-23.
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