Availability of Methodological Standards for GES Assessment

Availability of Methodological Standards for GES Assessment
Henna Piha & Nikolaos Zampoukas

Background In accordance with the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), it is appropriate to make provision for the development of criteria and methodological standards to ensure consistency and to allow for comparison between marine regions or subregions of the extent to which good environmental status (GES) is being achieved.

Background Provision should be made for methodological standards for: Assessment of the status of the marine environment Monitoring Environmental targets Technical formats for transmission and processing of data in line with the Inspire Directive (2007/2/EC). need for comparability of approaches and environmental goals within and among marine regions

Background Commission Decision of 1 September 2010 on criteria and methodological standards on good environmental status of marine waters (COM Dec; 2010/477/EU) states that for most criteria, the assessment methodologies required need to take into account and, where appropriate, be based on those applicable under existing Community legislation. On the request of DG ENV, JRC has reviewed the availability of methodological standards related to the MSFD Criteria on GES.

Structure of the Review Methodological standards were reviewed for: Status assessment Monitoring Environmental targets The screening of methodological standards was restricted to: WFD (2000/60/EC) EQS Directive (2008/105/EC) Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC) CFP Regional Sea Conventions

Structure of the Review Methodological standards were defined in general terms as all methods developed and agreed in the framework of European or international conventions. For environmental targets a common interpretation can be a value set on the basis of an environment indicator or index at or beyond which GES has been achieved.

Results: Availability of methodological standards by Descriptor WFD EQS Directive Habitats Directive CFP Regional Sea Conventions D1 Biological diversity X D2 Non-indigenous species D3 Commercial fish D4 Food webs D5 Eutrophication D6 Sea floor D7 Alteration of hydrographical conditions D8 Contaminants and pollution effects D9 Contaminants in fish and other seafood D10 Litter D11 Energy/Noise

Results: Descriptor 1 Biological diversity Species distributional range (1.1.1.) Area covered by the species (for sessile/benthic species) (1.1.3) Population abundance and/or biomass (1.2.1) Distributional range of habitat (1.4.1) Habitat area (1.5.1) SOURCE REGIONAL COVERAGE REMARKS A) Status assessment Habitats directive (explanatory notes & guidelines on assessment, monitoring and reporting under Article 17) NE Atlantic Baltic only for protected areas and some species B) Monitoring Mediterranean Black Sea C) Environmental targets

Results: Descriptor 1 Biological diversity Distributional pattern of habitat (1.4.2) SOURCE REGIONAL COVERAGE REMARKS A) Status assessment NE Atlantic Baltic Mediterranean Black Sea B) Monitoring C) Environmental targets Habitats directive (explanatory notes & guidelines on assessment, monitoring and reporting under Article 17) Only a recommendation that the distribution pattern of the habitat should allow exchange/gene flow in typical species.

Results: Descriptor 1 Biological diversity Population demographic characteristics (1.3.1) SOURCE REGIONAL COVERAGE REMARKS A) Status assessment Common Fisheries Policy (see D3) NE Atlantic Baltic Only for some fish species B) Monitoring Mediterranean Black Sea C) Environmental targets

Results: Descriptor 1 Biological diversity Relative abundance and/or biomass of the habitat (1.6.2) Composition and relative proportions of ecosystem components (habitats and species) (1.7.1). SOURCE REGIONAL COVERAGE REMARKS A) Status assessment WFD biological assessment methods (listed and described in the WISER project database) NE Atlantic Baltic Only for coastal and transitional waters & only for some groups of organisms (no zooplankton) Compliance not fully checked B) Monitoring Mediterranean Black Sea C) Environmental targets

Results: Descriptor 1 Biological diversity Physical, hydrological and chemical conditions of the habitat (1.6.3). SOURCE REGIONAL COVERAGE REMARKS A) Status assessment WFD (Eutrophication guidance) & methods under descriptor 8 NE Atlantic Baltic Only for coastal waters. No methods for hydrological conditions B) Monitoring Mediterranean Black Sea C) Environmental targets

Results: Descriptor 1 Biological diversity Species distributional pattern (1.1.2.) Population genetic structure (1.3.2). SOURCE REGIONAL COVERAGE REMARKS A) Status assessment NE Atlantic Baltic B) Monitoring Mediterranean Black Sea C) Environmental targets

Results: Descriptor 2 Non-indigenous species Ratio between invasive non-indigenous species and native species in some well studied taxonomic groups (e.g. fish, macroalgae, molluscs) that may provide a measure of change in species composition (e.g. further to the displacement of native species) (2.2.1) Impacts of non-indigenous invasive species at the level of species, habitats and ecosystem, where feasible (2.2.2). SOURCE REGIONAL COVERAGE REMARKS A) Status assessment HELCOM/ Biopollution Level NE Atlantic Baltic Needs further development. It was only applied for phytoplankton in coastal waters B) Monitoring Mediterranean Black Sea C) Environmental targets

Results: Descriptor 2 Non-indigenous species Trends in abundance, temporal occurrence and spatial distribution in the wild of non-indigenous species, particularly invasive non indigenous species, notably in risk areas, in relation to the main vectors and pathways of spreading of such species (2.1.1) SOURCE REGIONAL COVERAGE REMARKS A) Status assessment NE Atlantic Baltic B) Monitoring Mediterranean Black Sea C) Environmental targets

Results: Descriptor 3 Commercially exploited fish and shellfish Fishing mortality (F) (3.1.1). Ratio between catch and biomass index (3.1.2). Spawning Stock Biomass (3.2.1.). SOURCE REGIONAL COVERAGE REMARKS A) Status assessment Common Fisheries Policy NE Atlantic Baltic Data & analytical stock assessment are not available for all stocks and considerable differences in data availability exist between (sub)regions B) Monitoring Mediterranean Black Sea C) Environmental targets

Results: Descriptor 3 Commercially exploited fish and shellfish Biomass indices (3.2.2). Proportion of fish larger than the mean size of first sexual maturation (3.3.1) Mean maximum length across all species found in research vessel surveys (3.3.2) 95% percentile of the fish length distribution observed in research vessel surveys (3.3.3) Size at first sexual maturation (3.3.4). SOURCE REGIONAL COVERAGE REMARKS A) Status assessment NE Atlantic Baltic Mediterranean Black Sea B) Monitoring CFP There are no reference values with enough scientific agreement for assessment. Time series of indicators not available for all stocks. C) Environmental targets

Results: Descriptor 4 Food webs Abundance trends of functionally important selected groups/species (4.3.1). SOURCE REGIONAL COVERAGE REMARKS A) Status assessment WFD biological assessment methods (listed and described in the WISER project database) NE Atlantic Baltic Only for coastal and transitional and only for few groups of organisms (not for zooplankton) B) Monitoring Mediterranean Black Sea C) Environmental targets

Results: Descriptor 4 Food webs Performance of key predator species using their production per unit biomass (productivity) (4.1.1). Large fish (by weight) (4.2.1). SOURCE REGIONAL COVERAGE REMARKS A) Status assessment OSPAR (EcoQOs for healthy seal population & for sea bird breeding population size and breeding success in the North Sea) OSPAR (EcoQO: Over 30% of fish by weight should be greater than 40cm in length based on the ICES Quarter 1 International Bottom Trawl Survey.) NE Atlantic Baltic Not available for all key predator species and for all marine areas. Only for demersal fish and only in the North sea. B) Monitoring Mediterranean Black Sea C) Environmental targets

Results: Descriptor 5 Eutrophication Nutrients concentration in the water column (5.1.1) Nutrient ratios (silica, nitrogen and phosphorus), where appropriate (5.1.2) Dissolved oxygen (5.3.2). SOURCE REGIONAL COVERAGE REMARKS A) Status assessment WFD (Eutrophication guidance) OSPAR (EcoQO on nitrogen and phosphate) HELCOM (HEAT) MEDPOL (TRIX) NE Atlantic Baltic WFD only applies to coastal and transitional waters Silica is not included in any of the methods B) Monitoring Mediterranean Black Sea C) Environmental targets

Results: Descriptor 5 Eutrophication Water transparency related to increase in suspended algae, where relevant (5.2.2) SOURCE REGIONAL COVERAGE REMARKS A) Status assessment WFD (Eutrophication guidance) OSPAR (Turbidity is one of the supporting environmental factors to take into account) HELCOM (HEAT) NE Atlantic Baltic WFD only applies to coastal and transitional waters B) Monitoring Mediterranean Black Sea C) Environmental targets

Results: Descriptor 5 Eutrophication Chlorophyll concentration in the water column (5.2.1) SOURCE REGIONAL COVERAGE REMARKS A) Status assessment WFD biological assessment methods OSPAR EcoQO: Maximum and mean phytoplankton chlorophyll a concentrations during the growing season should remain below a justified area-specific % deviation from background not exceeding 50% HELCOM (HEAT) MEDPOL (TRIX) NE Atlantic Baltic WFD only applies to coastal and transitional waters. B) Monitoring Mediterranean Black Sea C) Environmental targets

Results: Descriptor 5 Eutrophication Abundance of opportunistic macroalgae (5.2.3) Species shift in floristic composition such as diatom to flagellate ratio, benthic to pelagic shifts, as well as bloom events of nuisance/toxic algal blooms (e.g. cyanobacteria) caused by human activities (5.2.4) SOURCE REGIONAL COVERAGE REMARKS A) Status assessment WFD biological assessment methods OSPAR: phytoplankton species that are indicators of eutrophication should remain below respective nuisance and/or toxic elevated levels/ no increase in the average duration of blooms) Shifts from long-lived to short-lived nuisance macrophytes species are included in the harmonized assessment parameters and associated elevated levels NE Atlantic Baltic WFD only applies to coastal and transitional waters. Not all countries have developed metrics for taxonomic composition and blooms. There are no metrics for blooms in the Baltic. B) Monitoring Mediterranean Black Sea C) Environmental targets

Results: Descriptor 5 Eutrophication Abundance of perennial seaweeds and seagrasses (e.g. fucoids, eelgrass and Neptune grass) adversely impacted by decrease in water transparency (5.3.1) SOURCE REGIONAL COVERAGE REMARKS A) Status assessment WFD biological assessment methods OSPAR (harmonized assessment parameters and associated elevated levels) HELCOM (HEAT) NE Atlantic Baltic WFD only applies to coastal and transitional waters. B) Monitoring Mediterranean Black Sea C) Environmental targets

Results: Descriptor 6 Sea bed integrity Presence of particularly sensitive and/or tolerant species (6.2.1) Multi-metric indexes assessing benthic community condition and functionality, such as species diversity and richness, proportion of opportunistic to sensitive species (6.2.2) SOURCE REGIONAL COVERAGE REMARKS A) Status assessment WFD biological assessment methods NE Atlantic Baltic Only coastal and transitional Not fully checked for compliance Not thoroughly explored for physical disturbances. Spatial scale much finer than the scale needed for the MSFD. B) Monitoring Mediterranean Black Sea C) Environmental targets

Results: Descriptor 6 Sea bed integrity Type, abundance, biomass and areal extent of relevant biogenic substrate (6.1.1) Extent of the seabed significantly affected by human activities for the different substrate types (6.1.2). Proportion of biomass or number of individuals in the macrobenthos above some specified length/size (6.2.3) Parameters describing the characteristics (shape, slope and intercept) of the size spectrum of the benthic community (6.2.4). SOURCE REGIONAL COVERAGE REMARKS A) Status assessment NE Atlantic Baltic B) Monitoring Mediterranean Black Sea C) Environmental targets

Results: Descriptor 7 Alteration of hydrographical conditions Indicator Extent of area affected by permanent alterations Indicator Spatial extent of habitats affected by the permanent alteration Indicator Changes in habitats, in particular the functions provided (e.g. spawning, breeding and feeding areas and migration routes of fish, birds and mammals), due to altered hydrographical conditions To our best knowledge there are no methodological standards for these indicators. However, OSPAR has adopted ICES guidance on environmental impacts of aggregate extraction (OSPAR Agreement ).

Results: Descriptor 8 Contaminants and pollution effects Available standards for concentration of contaminants (8.1.1.) Source Regional Coverage Remarks A) Status assessment WFD EQS directive CEMP Assessment Criteria (OSPAR) NE Atlantic Baltic WFD & EQS directive apply only to transitional and coastal waters Assessment criteria (EQS and EAC) developed only for a limited number of chemicals. EQS mostly for water. Mediterranean Black Sea B) Monitoring WFD Monitoring guidance QA/QC Directive JAMP Guidelines for Monitoring Contaminants in Biota and sediments UNEP/MAP-MEDPOL ICES TIMES Only for a limited number of chemicals. C) Environmental targets

Results: Descriptor 8 Contaminants and pollution effects Available standards for levels of pollution effects (8.2.1.) Source Regional Coverage Remarks A) Status assessment CEMP Assessment Criteria (OSPAR) NE Atlantic Baltic Assessment criteria developed only for TBT. Mediterranean Black Sea B) Monitoring JAMP Guidelines for Contaminant-specific and General Biological Effects Monitoring Guidelines only cover metal-specific biological effects monitoring. C) Environmental targets

Results: Descriptor 8 Contaminants and pollution effects Available standards for the occurrence, origin and extent of acute pollution events (8.2.2.) Source Regional Coverage Remarks A) Status assessment EcoQO handbook (OSPAR 2007) NE Atlantic Baltic Developed only for the North Sea. Mediterranean Black Sea B) Monitoring C) Environmental targets

Results: Descriptor 9 Contaminants in fish and other seafood Available standards for levels and number of contaminants (9.1.1.) Source Regional Coverage Remarks A) Status assessment Commission Regulation No 1881/2006 NE Atlantic Baltic Developed for only a limited number of contaminants. Mediterranean Black Sea B) Monitoring Developed for only a limited number of contaminants. Existing monitoring programmes generally focus on estimating consumer exposure rather than assessing environmental status. C) Environmental targets No methodological standards for Indicator Frequency of regulatory levels being exceeded.

Results: Descriptor 10 Marine litter Available standards for trends in the amount of litter washed ashore and/or deposited on coastlines (10.1.1) Source Regional Coverage Remarks A) Status assessment NE Atlantic Baltic Mediterranean Black Sea B) Monitoring HELCOM, OSPAR and UNEP guidelines C) Environmental targets

Results: Descriptor 10 Marine litter Available standards for trends in the amount of litter in the water column and deposited on the sea-floor (10.1.2) Source Regional Coverage Remarks A) Status assessment NE Atlantic Baltic Mediterranean Black Sea B) Monitoring UNEP guidelines, ICES & Medits (IBTS) No coordinated national or regional monitoring programmes for surface water, water column or seabed within EU. Surface water monitoring is not done on a regular basis by observers or net based surveys. C) Environmental targets No methodological standards for Indicator Trends in the amount, distribution and, composition of micro-particles.

Results: Descriptor 10 Marine litter Available standards for Trends in the amount and composition of litter ingested by marine animals (10.2.1) Source Regional Coverage Remarks A) Status assessment OSPAR Fulmar EcoQO NE Atlantic Baltic Developed for the North Sea. For southern parts of the OSPAR region and the Mediterranean region, pilot studies using other seabird species are being conducted. For other regions suitable species need to be identified and tested. Mediterranean Black Sea B) Monitoring C) Environmental targets

Results: Descriptor 11 Introduction of energy, including underwater noise Indicator Proportion of days and their distribution within a calendar year over areas of a determined surface, as well as their spatial distribution, in which anthropogenic sound sources exceed levels that are likely to entail significant impact on marine animals measured as Sound Exposure Level (in dB re 1µPa2.s) or as peak sound pressure level (in dB re 1µPapeak) at one metre, measured over the frequency band 10 Hz to 10 kHz. Indicator Trends in the ambient noise level within the 1/3 octave bands 63 and 125 Hz (centre frequency) (re 1μPa RMS; average noise level in these octave bands over a year) measured by observation stations and/or with the use of models if appropriate. There are no methodological standards for the indicators of this Descriptor.

Availability of Methodological Standards for GES Assessment

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