Continent: Insufficient information to assess primary criteria (except D1C1).

FishDemersalShellf

Establishment of GES established at the level of the Macaronesian biogeographic region through the PROJECTS SEAS II for marine mammals, birds and sea turtles. For commercially-exploited fish and cephalopods, see D3C3.

The species of megafauna of the waters of Macaronesia are highly migratory and present extensive distribution limits, which often extend to the coastal waters of several islands and ocean waters, to a scale greater than the biogeographical region. For these highly mobile, the area and the pattern of distribution are difficult to determine and quantify precisely. Establishing thresholds, benchmarks, measurable targets and interpreting trends in the distribution of these populations to assess GES appears unrealistic. D1C4 is considered unsuitable for assessing cetacean and sea turtles in Macaronesia, although monitoring of the distribution extension could be part of the surveillance of D1C2 (MISIC SERAS II consortium, 2018).

The extent and quality of the Azores Sea habitat do not seem to limit the large fauna to GES but there are several species whose life cycle does not entirely follow in the subdivision of the Azores. An assessment of the habitat condition requires an appropriate mapping, either in distance to the coast or in depth, and an integrated understanding of the state of the associated communities and species. Additional efforts for a coherent classification of marine habitats, supported by an appropriate mapping, are essential for a habitat assessment, taking into account variations over the gradient of coast and depth (coastal, platform and deep-sea habitat). For these reasons and the explanation also presented for D1C4, this criterion was considered inadequate to assess GES in the subdivision of the Azores.