More protection for our seas and oceans is needed, report finds

The Commission adopted [25.06.2020] a report on the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) which reveals that, while the EU's framework for marine environmental protection is one of the most comprehensive and ambitious worldwide, persistent challenges remain, such as excess nutrients, underwater noise, plastic litter, and other types of pollution as well as unsustainable fishing. This message is further reinforced in the European Environment Agency's “Marine Messages II” also published [25.06.2020].

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The MSFD report paints a mixed picture of the state of Europe's seas. Almost half of Europe's coastal waters are subject to intense eutrophication. Although EU rules regulating chemicals have led to a reduction in contaminants, there has been an increased accumulation of plastics and plastic chemical residues in most of the marine species. Thanks to the EU's common fisheries policy, nearly all landings in the North-East Atlantic come from healthy stocks. This is however not yet the case in the Mediterranean, for which more efforts are needed.
The EEA's Marine Messages II report, which feeds into the Commission's review, shows that historic and, in some cases, current use of our seas is taking its toll resulting in changes in the composition of marine species and habitats to changes in the seas' overall physical and chemical make-up. It suggests solutions that can help the EU achieve its goal of clean, healthy and productive seas, mainly through ecosystem-based management. It also adds that there are signs of marine ecosystem recovery in some areas as a result of significant, often decade-long, efforts to reduce certain impacts like those caused by contaminants, eutrophication, and overfishing.

The full press release can be found at ec.europa.eu

‘Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on the implementation of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive’ can be found at eur-lex.europa.eu