Achieve Good Environmental Status Research Articles

Addressing the cumulative impacts of multiple human pressures in marine systems, for the sustainable use of the seas

Human activities at sea have increased, causing subsequent degradation of ocean health and affecting ecosystem services and societal goods and benefits. Climate change further exacerbates the cumulative effects of these activities and their associated pressures. Hence, effective management of these multiple activities is imperative to ensure the sustainable use of the ocean. In response to these challenges, we have developed a comprehensive conceptual framework model within an ecosystem-based approach. This framework encompasses a versatile toolbox designed to assess cumulative pressures effects and the environmental status under the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive, in compliance with the Birds and Habitats Directives requirements and the need to secure the maintenance of ecosystem services and provision of societal benefits. Although we use European examples in the current discussion, we consider that there are similar challenges in many seas worldwide and so the recommendations here are widely applicable. Our aim is to facilitate the validation, harmonization, and demonstration of this toolbox across European regional seas and several countries, at different scales, from local to regional, including overseas territories. This approach aims to foster comparability in environmental status assessments. We anticipate that the proposed methodologies will serve as a foundational benchmark against which progress can be assessed in line with expectations and policy requirements. Additionally, this work prepares the groundwork for the forthcoming evaluation of the suitability, robustness, and applicability of these solutions and tools, thereby assisting managers in achieving Good Environmental Status (GES), both in European and wider global contexts, to address challenges which are common worldwide.

New tools and recommendations for a better management of harmful algal blooms under the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive

Marine harmful algal blooms (HABs), caused by various aquatic microalgae, pose significant risks to ecosystems, some socio-economic activities and human health. Traditionally managed as a public health issue through reactive control measures such as beach closures, seafood trade bans or closure of mollusc production areas, the multifaceted linkages of HABs with environmental and socio-economic factors require more comprehensive ecosystem-based management approach tools to support policies. This study promotes a coordinated understanding and implementation of HAB assessment and management under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), targeting the achievement of Good Environmental Status (GES) in European marine waters. We introduce two novel tools: GES4HABs (GES for HABs) decision tree, and MAMBO (environMental mAtrix for the Management of BlOoms), a decision support matrix. These tools aim to streamline HABs reporting and prioritize resource allocation and management interventions. The GES4HABs decision tree defines a sequence of decision steps to identify HAB management strategies according to their state (evaluated against predefined baselines) and causes (anthropic or natural). MAMBO is proposed to address different HABs and their interaction with human and environmental pressures. The matrix utilizes two axes: natural trophic status and level of human influence, capturing major aspects such as nutrient supply. While acknowledging the limitations of this simplified framework, MAMBO categorizes marine regions into quadrants of varying management viability. Regions with high human influence and eutrophic conditions are identified as most suitable for effective management intervention, whereas regions with minimal or mixed human influence are deemed less amenable to active management. In addition, we explore and describe various indicators, monitoring methods and initiatives that may be relevant to support assessments of HAB status and associated pressures and impacts in the MSFD reporting. Finally, we provide some recommendations to promote the consideration of HABs in ecosystem-based management strategies, intensify efforts for harmonizing and defining best practices of analysis, monitoring and assessment methodologies, and foster international and cross-sectoral coordination to optimize resources, efforts and roles.

Public preferences for marine plastic litter management across Europe

Plastic pollution is one of the most challenging problems affecting the marine environment of our time. Based on a unique dataset covering four European seas and eight European countries, this paper adds to the limited empirical evidence base related to the societal welfare effects of marine litter management. We use a discrete choice experiment to elicit public willingness-to-pay (WTP) for macro and micro plastic removal to achieve Good Environmental Status across European seas as required by the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive. Using a common valuation design and following best-practice guidelines, we draw comparisons between countries, seas and policy contexts. European citizens have strong preferences to improve the environmental status of the marine environment by removing and reducing both micro and macro plastic litter and implementing preventive measures favouring a pan-European approach. However, public WTP estimates differ significantly across European countries and seas. We explain why and discuss implications for policymaking.

The Response of North Sea Ecosystem Functional Groups to Warming and Changes in Fishing

Achieving Good Environmental Status (GES) requires managing ecosystems subject to a variety of pressures such as climate change, eutrophication, and fishing. However, ecosystem models are generally much better at representing top-down impacts from fishing than bottom-up impacts due to warming or changes in nutrient loading. Bottom-up processes often have to be parameterised with little data or worse still taken as a system input rather than being represented explicitly. In this study we use an end-to-end ecosystem model (StrathE2E2) for the North Sea with 18 broad functional groups, five resource pools, and representations of feeding, metabolism, reproduction, active migrations, advection, and mixing. Environmental driving data include temperature, irradiance, hydrodynamics, and nutrient inputs from rivers, atmosphere, and ocean boundaries, so the model is designed to evaluate rigorously top-down and bottom-up impacts and is ideal for looking at possible changes in energy flows and “big picture” ecosystem function. In this study we considered the impacts of warming (2 and 4°C) and various levels of fishing, by demersal and pelagic fleets, on the structure and function of the foodweb. A key aim is to demonstrate whether monitoring of broad ecosystem groups could assist in deciding whether GES was being achieved. We found that warming raised primary productivity and increased the size (total biomass) of the ecosystem. Warming raised metabolic demands on omnivorous zooplankton and reduced their abundance, thus favouring benthivorous and piscivorous demersal fish at the expense of planktivorous pelagic fish but otherwise had modest effects on energy pathways and top predators, whereas changes in fishing patterns could materially alter foodweb function and the relative outcomes for top predators. We suggest that GES should be defined in terms of an unfished state and that abundances of broad groupings and the balance between them can help to assess whether indicator outcomes were consistent with GES. Our findings underwrite the need for an ecosystem approach for the management of human activities supported by relevant monitoring. We also highlight the need to improve our basic understanding of bottom-up processes, improve their representation within models, and ensure that our ecosystem models can capture growth limitation by nitrogen and other elements, and not just food/energy uptake.

Is It All About the Data? How Extruded Polystyrene Escaped Single-Use Plastic Directive Market Restrictions

The Single-Use Plastics Directive (EU) 72/2019/904 is the main legislation governing plastic pollution, inclusive of marine plastic pollution in the European Union (EU). The Directive has issued market restrictions on several single-use plastic products which contribute to marine plastic pollution, including foamed polystyrene products made of expanded polystyrene (EPS). However, extruded polystyrene (XPS) which is commonly used in the same single-use plastics products as EPS has been omitted from the market placement restrictions within the scope of the Directive. This has subsequently compromised the Single-Use Plastics Directive’s effectiveness for reducing marine plastic pollution and hinders the efforts of related EU instruments such as the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, Descriptor 10 toward achieving Good Environmental Status across the marine environment in the EU. This paper provides some background on EPS and XPS, and discusses plastic pollution policy making in the EU, while further addressing the role of quantitative data in the European Joint Research Centre’s Technical Report on Top Marine Beach Litter Items in the EU for the formulation of policy regulating foamed polystyrene derived marine plastic pollution. We also provide an overview of how the communication gaps in the polymer science nomenclature for polystyrene may have contributed to the development of misnomers for extruded and EPS, consequently compromising necessary data gathering efforts. Our perspective hopes to incite conversations on communication gaps between scientists and policy makers and emphasise the need for gathering quantitative disaggregated data on the foamed polystyrene market to inform European plastic pollution legislation adequately.

An integrated assessment of the Good Environmental Status of Mediterranean Marine Protected Areas

Local, regional and global targets have been set to halt marine biodiversity loss. Europe has set its own policy targets to achieve Good Environmental Status (GES) of marine ecosystems by implementing the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) across member states. We combined an extensive dataset across five Mediterranean ecoregions including 26 Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), their reference unprotected areas, and a no-trawl case study. Our aim was to assess if MPAs reach GES, if their effects are local or can be detected at ecoregion level or up to a Mediterranean scale, and which are the ecosystem components driving GES achievement. This was undertaken by using the analytical tool NEAT (Nested Environmental status Assessment Tool), which allows an integrated assessment of the status of marine systems. We adopted an ecosystem approach by integrating data from several ecosystem components: the seagrass Posidonia oceanica, macroalgae, sea urchins and fish. Thresholds to define the GES were set by dedicated workshops and literature review.In the Western Mediterranean, most MPAs are in good/high status, with P. oceanica and fish driving this result within MPAs. However, GES is achieved only at a local level, and the Mediterranean Sea, as a whole, results in a moderate environmental status. Macroalgal forests are overall in bad condition, confirming their status at risk. The results are significantly affected by the assumption that discrete observations over small spatial scales are representative of the total extension investigated. This calls for large-scale, dedicated assessments to realistically detect environmental status changes under different conditions.Understanding MPAs effectiveness in reaching GES is crucial to assess their role as sentinel observatories of marine systems. MPAs and trawling bans can locally contribute to the attainment of GES and to the fulfillment of the MSFD objectives. Building confidence in setting thresholds between GES and non-GES, investing in long-term monitoring, increasing the spatial extent of sampling areas, rethinking and broadening the scope of complementary tools of protection (e.g., Natura 2000 Sites), are indicated as solutions to ameliorate the status of the basin.

Evaluating the progress in achieving Good Environmental Status in the Mediterranean: A methodology to assess the effectiveness of Marine Strategy Framework Directive's Programmes of Measures

The Marine Strategy Framework Directive (2008/56/EC) aims to achieve Good Environmental Status of the European Union's marine waters for which the EU Member States are preparing Programmes of Measures (PoMs) to coordinate policies and improve the marine environmental status. These Programmes are revised every six years, yet there is currently no comprehensive and robust methodology to assess the effectiveness of PoMs and their contribution to reaching Good Environmental Status. This paper presents a new and concrete methodology combining policy, socio-economical, and environmental aspects, relying on available monitoring data, official reporting, and expert judgement to yield easily comparable numerical results. The utility of this methodology is also demonstrated on a series of hypothethical measures under descriptors 1 (Biological diversity), 3 (Commerical fisheries stocks), 6 (Seafloor integrity), and 10 (Marine litter). The demonstration shows how the method can be used by policy and decision-makers across the EU, as well as a variety of expert and non-governmental actors to evaluate the progress and potential of individual PoMs on national and (sub)regional levels. Therefore, the method could pave the way to more coherent, coordinated and effective measures to protect EU seas.

Application of a risk-based approach to continuous underwater noise at local and subregional scales for the Marine Strategy Framework Directive

The Marine Strategy Framework Directive’s (MSFD) goal of achieving Good Environmental Status (GES) in European waters presents Member States (MS) with a significant challenge in measurement and monitoring of a suite of descriptors of GES, some of which are poorly understood. To address the burden for MSs of monitoring and measuring environmental status and trends over vast areas, provisions have been made for the use of risk-based approaches to assessment and monitoring. Here, a standardised risk-based approach is described, aligned with the articles of the directive and with the DAPSI(W)R(M) conceptual frame. This risk approach is then applied at two different spatial scales for the risks associated with continuous underwater noise (D11C2). The first case is a subregional scale application for the North East Atlantic assessing risk under data poor conditions while the second case focuses on the Bay of Biscay, using the same process but under data rich conditions. The parallel applications of the risk-based approach illustrate that it is a powerful tool that can provide useful outputs, even where significant data gaps and limitations in understanding exist. We demonstrate the adaptability and wider applicability of the risk-based approach and finally make recommendations as to how improvements in data availability and accessibility could increase the confidence in the outputs.

Science for Good Environmental Status: A European Joint Action to Support Marine Policy

In the last decade, several initiatives have been taken at a European level to adopt the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) by promoting coordination and stimulating integrated actions leading to consistent views on its final goal: the achievement of good environmental status (GES). In its holistic approach, the MSFD fully acknowledges the complexity and variability of marine ecosystems and demands constant scientific support for its actual implementation. Recently, the Joint Programming Initiative on “Healthy and Productive Seas and Oceans” (JPI Oceans) launched the joint action “Science for Good Environmental Status” (Science4GES), building on the contribution of different scientific disciplines and communities to better fulfill the scope of the MSFD. In this paper we illustrate and discuss a few crucial aspects of endeavors to implement the MSFD specifically implied in the definition of the metrics for the 11 descriptors and GES in its complexity, as well as improving the strategy governing its implementation. This presentation also describes the challenges, aims and implementation plan for the JPI-O joint action, where a transdisciplinary approach may help in progressing from the comprehensive and far-reaching vision of the MSFD to the achievement of a durable GES.

A moving target: Achieving good environmental status and social justice in the case of an alien species, Rapa whelk in the Black Sea

The invasive Rapa whelk, Rapana venosa in the Black Sea presents a complex governance problem posing a diverse set of positive and negative impacts on marine ecosystems as well as on coastal communities. While some marine scientists perceive the Rapa whelk as a fishery to be sustainably managed, others are more concerned about the threats it poses to biodiversity and ecosystem integrity. Fishers themselves are divided regarding the dominant fishing method used to harvest, namely, dredging, which damages benthic habitats and negatively impacts already over-exploited commercial fish stocks of the Black Sea. Dredging is also the main impediment to achieving Good Environmental Status based on the Marine Strategy Framework Directive of the European Union. While the economic profits of its fisheries are predominantly prioritized by Black Sea countries, social justice aspects of its fisheries in terms of providing livelihoods to marginalized coastal communities should not be overlooked. The presence of a diverse set of stakeholders with differential views and needs makes it integral to utilize integrated participatory approaches in the governance of its fisheries in the Black Sea, such as ecosystem-based management and co-management. Establishing and maintaining social justice while adhering to the EU’s Good Environmental Status principles is a moving target that policy makers, marine scientists and other relevant stakeholders should opt for in managing the complex governance issues that invasive species such as Rapana venosa pose.

Monitoring biodiversity for the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive: Lessons learnt from evaluating the official reports

Evaluating environmental policies creates opportunities for harmonising and refining their implementation using a heuristic approach, and considering the knowledge gaps in understanding the complex environmental processes. The European Union’s (EU) Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) is an ambitious legislation that brings together state, pressure, and impact Descriptors of the marine environment, and is built on an ecosystem-based approach to management. Ultimately, the Directive aims to achieve Good Environmental Status (GES) and sustainable use of marine resources. The EU Member States’ (MS) reporting obligations for biodiversity monitoring were evaluated, to produce the first EU-wide overview of how monitoring programmes across EU waters are organised. Marine biodiversity monitoring is essential for the management of anthropogenic activities that affect the state of marine ecosystems, to support the understanding of complex marine systems, to determine GES, and to evaluate the effectiveness of the established measures. The EU MS put great effort into adapting their established biodiversity monitoring activities for the existing policy requirements, and to plan new monitoring programmes from the emerging needs of this ambitious policy. The monitoring reports provide a unique source of information, and this evaluation could lead to improve MS’ reporting, and harmonise implementation of the policy. Moreover, the evaluation provides a basis for sharing good practices, innovative monitoring standards, and developing joint monitoring programmes that could greatly facilitate the establishment of cost-efficient and accurate monitoring. As such, the recommendations from this policy evaluation could be relevant to any environmental management framework worldwide.

Population genomic structure of the black coral Antipathella subpinnata in Mediterranean Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems

Antipathella subpinnata (Ellis and Solander 1786) is one of the most frequently observed black corals at mesophotic depths (60–200 m) of the Mediterranean Sea, particularly in the northwestern part of the basin, where its populations can reach high densities and create forest-like aggregations, both along the coast and in offshore locations such as seamounts. Similar to other marine underwater forests, black coral gardens host a rich associated fauna and attract numerous species of commercial interest. As such, these corals are targeted by recreational and artisanal fisheries and are vulnerable to human impact due to their arborescent morphology and low growth rates. Genetic connectivity can provide valuable insight into the processes of population maintenance and replenishment following environmental disturbance and is often used as a proxy for population resilience. In our study, a restriction-site associated DNA analysis (2bRAD) was used to evaluate fine-scale population structure of the Mediterranean black coral A. subpinnata, and to understand which populations could serve as a potential source of genetic diversity for adjacent populations. Colonies from two offshore localities (a Ligurian seamount and a Tyrrhenian canyon) and four coastal populations from Liguria and Sicily were sampled and genotyped. Significant genetic differentiation was recorded between coastal and offshore localities. Moreover, offshore localities were genetically distinct from one another, while all coastal populations were characterized by panmixia. This indicates that offshore A. subpinnata gardens are potentially less resilient to human impact (i.e., demersal fishing activities) due to a limited influx of larvae from adjacent habitats. In addition, they are unlikely to supply coral propagules to coastal populations. Overall, this study highlights the vulnerability of Mediterranean A. subpinnata forests, and the importance of enforcing conservation and management measures to achieve Good Environmental Status (GES, EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive) of these valuable marine ecosystems.

Identifying assessment scales for food web criteria in the NE Atlantic: implications for the Marine Strategy Framework Directive

Abstract The implementation of food web criteria in the Marine Strategy Framework Directive context faces several difficulties, namely the lack of data for relevant taxa, the absence of operational indicators, and spatially and temporally limited datasets. This work aims to identify ecologically relevant scales in the Celtic Seas (CS) and the Bay of Biscay and Iberian Coast (BBIC). Four food web criteria—mean trophic level (MTL), mean trophic level with cut-offs (MTL_3.25 and MTL_4), large fish indicator (LFI) and mean abundance across trophic guild (MATG)—were assessed using groundfish data and tested using generalized additive models, for six spatial scales and four temporal scales. In both subregions, MTL required yearly and locally defined assessment scales. As for MTL_3.25, it improved significantly when downsizing spatial scales but was temporally consistent. In the CS, locally defined scales and yearly data explained MTL_4 and LFI. While in BBIC, MTL_4 and LFI patterns were defined spatially by region and depth and temporally by year. MATG variability was unaffected by scales. Using the scales identified, food web criteriawere assessed for the Portuguese continental waters. Criteria failed to achieve Good Environmental Status in areas of the Southwest and South of Portugal. Although downsizing scales revealed that criteria were below the threshold at local/regional level, differences in classification are expected to be limited if spatial assessments are aggregated.

Programmes of measures of the marine strategy framework directive: Are they contributing to achieving good environmental status in the Mediterranean?

The Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) is the piece of legislation with which the EU aims to achieve Good Environmental Status (GES) of its seas. This Directive requires Member States (MSs) to set up and implement Programmes of Measures (PoMs) to achieve this goal. This paper presents a catalogue as well as the analysis of the 535 measures proposed by the eight Mediterranean EU MSs to combat pollution and non-indigenous species and contribute to the GES of the Mediterranean Sea. The results reiterate the need for better coherence and coordination between MSs, also with non-EU countries in the preparation of the next iteration of PoMs. Only 5% of the measures applied have an effect beyond MSs´ marine waters jurisdiction, and a fifth of them lack linkages with any ecosystem component. The results point to gaps, while desired goals and recommendations will help policy makers to implement the and conceptualise measures.

Discovering Europe's seabed geology: the EMODnet concept of uniform collection and harmonization of marine data

Abstract Maritime spatial planning, management of marine resources, environmental assessments and forecasting all require good seabed maps. Similarly there is a need to support the objectives to achieve Good Environmental Status in Europe's seas by 2020, set up by the European Commission's Marine Strategy Framework Directive. Hence the European Commission established the European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODnet) programme in 2009, which is now in its fourth phase (2019–21). The programme is designed to assemble existing, but fragmented and partly inaccessible, marine data and to create contiguous and publicly available information layers which are interoperable and free of restrictions on use, and which encompass whole marine basins. The EMODnet Geology project is delivering integrated geological map products that include seabed substrates, sedimentation rates, seafloor geology, Quaternary geology, geomorphology, coastal behaviour, geological events such as submarine landslides and earthquakes, and marine mineral occurrences. Additionally, as a new product during the ongoing and preceding phase of the project, map products on submerged landscapes of the European continental shelf have been compiled at various time frames. All new map products have a resolution of 1:100 000, although finer resolution is presented where the underlying data permit. A multi-scale approach is adopted whenever possible. Numerous national seabed mapping programmes worldwide have demonstrated the necessity for proper knowledge of the seafloor. Acting on this, the European Commission established the European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODnet) programme in 2009. The national geological survey organizations of Europe have a strong network of marine geological teams through the Marine Geology Expert Group of the association of European geological surveys (Eurogeosurveys). This network was the foundation of the EMODnet Geology consortium which today consists of the national geological surveys of Finland, the UK, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, The Netherlands, Belgium, France, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Albania, Greece, Cyprus, Malta, Russia, Germany, Montenegro and Iceland, as well as marine teams of research organizations in Portugal (IPMA), Bulgaria (IO-BAS), Romania (GeoEcoMar), the UK (CEFAS), Greece (HCMR) and Ukraine (PSRGE, replaced in the fourth phase by Institute of Geological Sciences, NAS of Ukraine). The consortium is further strengthened with experts from six universities: Edge Hill University (UK), Sapienza University of Rome (Italy), University of Tartu (Estonia), University of Crete through FORTH-ICS, Institute of Marine Science and Technology of Dokuz Eylul University (Turkey), and EMCOL Research Centre of Istanbul Technical University – altogether, 30 partners and nine subcontractors. The EMODnet Geology programme is now in its fourth phase, which started in September 2019. In addition to geological information, the wider EMODnet programme aims to also bring together information from European seas on seabed habitats, physical properties, chemistry, biology, human activities and hydrography. This paper describes the EMODnet Geology project and the different end products which were delivered in the end of the third phase and will be further developed during the recent fourth phase of the project.

Implementation Challenges for Marine Strategy Framework Directive in the Republic of Croatia

The Marine Strategy Framework Directive adopted in 2008 aims to achieve Good Environmental Status (GES) of the EU’s marine waters by 2020 and to protect the resource base upon which marinerelated economic and social activities depend. To that end each Member State is required to develop its Marine Strategy, keep it up-to-date and have it reviewed every 6 years. The Republic of Croatia has by mid-2019 not adopted its national strategic document. The paper analyses the chronology, content of EU official country reports on marine environment, possible obstacles in adoption procedure and presents proposal for more efficient approach to protecting the Adriatic Sea. Marine spatial planning is also considered key instrument for managing the conflicts resulting from the increasing utilization and industrialization of the world’s seas and oceans. The process of national marine policy adoption should be made more clear and transparent to general public which is at the same time the public concerned, and to expert community. Strategic vision can only be built on knowledge, education and awareness of wider public.

Future projections of record-breaking sea surface temperature and cyanobacteria bloom events in the Baltic Sea.

Aiming to inform both marine management and the public, coupled environmental-climate scenario simulations for the future Baltic Sea are analyzed. The projections are performed under two greenhouse gas concentration scenarios (medium and high-end) and three nutrient load scenarios spanning the range of plausible socio-economic pathways. Assuming an optimistic scenario with perfect implementation of the Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP), the projections suggest that the achievement of Good Environmental Status will take at least a few more decades. However, for the perception of the attractiveness of beach recreational sites, extreme events such as tropical nights, record-breaking sea surface temperature (SST), and cyanobacteria blooms may be more important than mean ecosystem indicators. Our projections suggest that the incidence of record-breaking summer SSTs will increase significantly. Under the BSAP, record-breaking cyanobacteria blooms will no longer occur in the future, but may reappear at the end of the century in a business-as-usual nutrient load scenario.

Evaluating the ecological status of cold-water coral habitats using non-invasive methods: An example from Cassidaigne canyon, northwestern Mediterranean Sea

Cold-water coral ecosystems have been identified as vulnerable, but quantitative data on their conservation status is very limited. The Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) is the tool implemented by the European Union’s Integrated Maritime Policy to achieve Good Environmental Status (GES) of marine waters by 2020. In this context, the aim of this study was to evaluate the Ecological Status of benthic habitats in Cassidaigne canyon, focusing in particular on cold-water coral habitats dominated by Madrepora oculata.Data were collected during the Videocor1 cruise (2017). Videos and photos collected during eight dives of the H-ROV Ariane were used to reconstruct, in 3-dimensions, the areas where cnidarians have settled in the canyon. A total of 33 3D models were built, which allowed measuring the spatial and vertical distribution, surface, density and size structure of cnidarian populations at four different sites. When 3D reconstructions were not possible, GIS tools were used. The seven cnidarian species considered were the scleractinian M. oculata; three antipatharians: Leiopathes glaberrima, Antipathella subpinnata, Antipathes dichotoma; and three aclyonaceans: the precious red coral Corallium rubrum and the gorgonians Callogorgia verticllata and Viminella flagellum.Using photogrammetry, we were able to reveal the size structure of the dense population of M. oculata in the canyon, as well as to obtain knowledge on a complex site (Cassis-200) composed of 15 knolls, and to quantify the surface occupied by M. oculata at a separate site (Cassis-500) influenced by industrial discharges. At the southern flank of the canyon we found a highly diverse site (SW Flank) dominated by antipatharians and gorgonians composing large forests, and finally a reservoir of M. oculata was identified under overhangs at a site called the Wall. The diversity of accompanying species is also reported and marine litter quantified. Images collected before 2017 were compared to the 3D models to precisely locate them on the sites, and assess temporal changes in M. oculata colony sizes at Cassis-200 site. We also report on the ground-truthing of predicted habitat maps produced previously, and confirm their good representation of the distribution of cold-water coral habitats. Finally, we quantified the criteria defined by the MSFD, aimed at evaluating the GES of benthic habitats for M. oculata ecosystems, at the scale of the Cassidaigne canyon. Measurements showed that the extent of loss of the observed M. oculata habitat reached 56% according to the MFSD definition.

The economic benefits of achieving Good Environmental Status in the Finnish marine waters of the Baltic Sea

This study provides monetary estimates of the benefits of achieving Good Environmental Status (GES) in the Finnish marine waters of the Baltic Sea. The designed contingent valuation study addresses the non-market benefits related to all descriptors defining GES in the Baltic Sea, and it is designed to conform to the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive's request to estimate the national costs of the degradation of the marine environment. According to the results, Finns are willing to contribute annually €105–123 per person to achieve GES in the Finnish marine area. This indicates that the total monetary benefits of reaching GES are €432–509 million annually in Finland. The results also show that Finns value a healthy marine environment irrespective of how far from the coast they live and even if they do not use the sea themselves. They particularly want public funding to be allocated to reducing hazardous substances and eutrophication. Moreover, Finns place especially high importance on cultural ecosystem services related to the existence of habitats for species as well as on recreation and aesthetic values. This confirms that the public funds used for Baltic Sea protection measures seem to be largely accepted even by the population mainly benefiting from non-use values.

Can national management measures achieve good status across international boundaries? - A case study of the Bay of Biscay and Iberian coast sub-region

Coastal countries have historically implemented management measures to improve the status of their national marine waters and little effort has been made to take coordinated actions to improve the status of the entire region or sub-region of which they are part. At the European level, the adoption of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) aims to remedy this deficiency and to promote coordination among countries and an integrated management of the marine environment. The MSFD requires each country to propose and adopt a programme of measures to achieve Good Environmental Status of the regional seas. This study compares the programmes of measures of the three countries of the Bay of Biscay and Iberian coast sub-region – France, Portugal and Spain – presenting a novel use of multivariate analyses using semi-quantitative policy information. Among the four North-East Atlantic sub-regions, this study area was chosen because it showed the lowest levels of coherence during the first phase of the implementation of the MSFD, according to the European Commission assessment. The results show the differences among the three programmes, confirming the difficulties that neighbouring countries face when they are required to adopt common approaches in the implementation of this multi-sectoral Directive. Most of the measures developed in the sub-region address marine biodiversity but this is through a wide range of actions, covering different pressures and different species/habitats. The integration with other legislation is more similar between Spain and France and differs between these and Portugal. The three countries also recognise the lack of knowledge to perform the economic analysis, in particular in quantifying the costs of and social benefits derived from their measures. It is concluded here that a better use of the regional and European coordination structures is needed to fill the gaps in knowledge and to exchange good practices. More political will is necessary to take action at European and international level to mitigate the impact of those socio-economic activities through joint programmes, for which Community funding is available.