the total area of the seabed directly impacted by various human activities could potentially be quantified, both the indirectly impacted area as well as the effects on distinct biogenic substrates/habitats cannot be estimated at this point. Therefore, the precise determination of the status of this criterion is not currently feasible. through to the implementation of the WFD (2000/60/EC) in the coastal waters of Cyprus, a number of indices exist which describe the condition and function of the benthic community in the coastal waters of Cyprus. A full analysis of these components in provided in Part II and is briefly summarized .

Pressures such as sealing, smothering and siltation can result from physical alteration of the seafloor. Based on the information compiled for this reporting, up to 7.8 % of the coastal seafloor can be impacted by these activities in 2019. An additional pressure from other activities such as bottom trawling and selective extraction of resources is abrasion, the scouring and ploughing of the seabed. The extent of bottom trawling in territorial waters and the EEZ is currently unknown. Prospecting for and extraction of marine hydrocarbons is expected to have minimal imprint on seafloor integrity given the limited spatial scale of actual structures and operations (see analysis in DFMR, 2012).

The length of permanently altered coastline and estimated 100 m wide coastal water band have increased by 44% and 8% between 2012 and 2019. However, the actual fraction of affected coastline remains relatively low.