A new European Commission (EC) report shows that EU Member States have made considerable efforts to address pressures on the marine environment, but measures are not yet sufficient to achieve good, healthy and productive seas by 2020.
The programmes of measures to achieve 'good environmental status' by 2020 are the last step of six-year strategies and were set up by EU member states under the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive. The report on the implementation of the Directive assesses the measures put in place to achieve the status. The concept of 'good environmental status' is defined by measures conserving biodiversity and tackling pressures like overfishing, seabed damage, marine litter and contaminants.
Karmenu Vella, Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, said: "Over the last years, Member States have put a lot of effort to ensure that the seas’ resources are used and managed sustainably, relying a lot on regional cooperation.
“Unfortunately, despite these efforts, the measures taken so far are not yet sufficient to achieve good, healthy and productive seas by 2020. I therefore urge Member States to take heed of the recommendations made by the Commission to move a step closer to achieving this goal.”
Regional cooperation
In their programmes of measures, member states have relied on regional cooperation more than ever before, and integrated different national, EU and international policies, said the EC.
For example, to fight overfishing and reduce the negative impacts of fishing, member states have reported measures taken under the EU Common Fisheries Policy, in regional and international agreements, as well as new measures, such as introducing the use of specific and less damaging fishing gear.
One in four measures announced by member states has been developed specifically for the purposes of this Directive to target pressures on the marine environment that would otherwise not be covered, said the EC.
Nevertheless, the assessment shows that the goal of ‘good environmental status’ of European marine waters by 2020 will not be achieved without further improvements, it stressed.
In some cases, such as marine litter, where member states lacked coordinated measures, this shortcoming is partly addressed at EU level, through the EU’s strategy on plastics and its subsequent actions.
