Member State report / Art9 / 2018 / D1-F / Mediterranean
| Report type | Member State report to Commission |
| MSFD Article | Art. 9 Determination of GES (and Art. 17 updates) |
| Report due | 2018-10-15 |
| GES Descriptor | D1 Fish |
| Region/subregion | Mediterranean |
| Reported by | Member state |
| Member state | United Kingdom |
Spain |
France |
Italy |
Malta |
Slovenia |
Croatia |
Greece |
Cyprus |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Member state report | ||||||||||
| Marine reporting units | MRUs used |
|
|
|
|
|
||||
| Structure, functions and processes of marine ecosystems: Species | All fish |
|
|
|
||||||
| Structure, functions and processes of marine ecosystems: Species | Coastal fish |
|
|
|
||||||
| Structure, functions and processes of marine ecosystems: Species | Commercially exploited fish and shellfish |
|
|
|||||||
| Structure, functions and processes of marine ecosystems: Species | Deep-sea fish |
|
||||||||
| Structure, functions and processes of marine ecosystems: Species | Demersal shelf fish |
|
|
|
||||||
| Structure, functions and processes of marine ecosystems: Species | Pelagic shelf fish |
|
|
|
||||||
| GES description | D1 Fish |
Biological diversity is conserved. The quality of habitats and their number, as well as the distribution and abundance of species are adapted to existing physiographic, geographic and climatic conditions (Directive 2008/56/EC).
|
G 1.4 Coastal fish communities have satisfactory demographic characteristics
|
|||||||
| GES description | D1C1 Mortality rate from incidental by-catch |
G 1.1 Marine species listed in the Habitats Directive, the Birds Directive and the SPA/BD Protocol to the Barcelona Convention maintain or attain favourable conservation status
|
The mortality rate per species from incidental by-catch is below levels which threaten the species, such that its long- term viability is ensured. |
|||||||
| GES description | D1C2 Population abundance (1.2, 1.2.1) |
G 1.1 Marine species listed in the Habitats Directive, the Birds Directive and the SPA/BD Protocol to the Barcelona Convention maintain or attain favourable conservation status
|
The biomass indices and the size distribution of non-commercially exploited species, as assessed through MEDITS surveys, in comparison with historical averages, are indicative of healthy status |
The population abundance of the species is not adversely affected due to anthropogenic pressures, such that its long-term viability is ensured. |
||||||
| GES description | D1C3 Population demographic characteristics (1.3, 1.3.1) | The size distribution of commercially exploited species of fish and cephalopods, in comparison with long-term historical average, is indicative of healthy stocks. |
The population demographic characteristics (e.g. body size or age class structure, sex ratio, fecundity, and survival rates) of the species are indicative of a healthy population which is not adversely affected due to anthropogenic pressures. |
|||||||
| GES description | D1C4 Population distributional range and pattern (1.1, 1.1.1, 1.1.2, 1.1.3) | |||||||||
| GES description | D1C5 Habitat for the species | |||||||||
| Determination date |
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
| Update type |
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
| Justification for non-use of criterion | D1C1: [CoastalFish]: Criterion D1C1 not used, since not relevant for this species group, composed by selected species belonging to fish coastal communities of hard substrates, not subject to catches from industrial fisheries. No MS was informed about. D1C4: [Mammals and Reptiles]: Criterion D1C4 is considered irrelevant for the definition of GES of wideranging species such as cetaceans and marine turtles since their migratory nature leads to wide species home ranges whose eventual contraction cannot be detected in time periods relevant to identify trends D1C5: [Mammals and Reptiles]: Criterion D1C5 is difficult to assess given the species' migratory nature and wide home ranges. No MS was informed about. |
D1C1: Updated GES is not targeting non-commercial species of fish and cephalopods as per Commission Decision (EU) 2017/848, pending more data on by-catch as per Malta’s Work Plan for data collection in the fisheries and aquaculture sectors 2017-2019. D1C3: GES has been elaborated in relation to D1C3 for commercial cephalopods as follows: “The size distribution of commercially exploited species of fish and cephalopods, in comparison with long-term historical average, is indicative of healthy stocks. D1C4: GES in relation to D1C4 was only elaborated for marine reptiles and marine mammals as follows: “The distributional range of marine reptiles and marine mammals as listed in Annex IV to Directive 92/43/EEC is stable and not declining taking into consideration natural variation, and not smaller than Favourable Reference Range values where established under Directive 92/43/EEC”. This GES is not elaborated for fish species, since none of the species under consideration are listed in the Habitats Directive. D1C5: GES in relation to D1C5 has not been elaborated for marine mammals since the interaction of marine mammals with Maltese waters needs to be better defined. As indicated in D1C4, none of the fish species under consideration are listed in the Habitats Directive. |
D1: The GES definition is placed at the descriptor level according to the data currently available for the assessment of the situation and as such is fully relevant for specific groups of species.
|
D1C1: None
|
||||||
| Justification for delay in setting EU/regional requirements |
D1.4: Criterion D1C1 has not been assessed for commercially exploited stocks as it only concerns non-commercially exploited species at risk of being caught accidentally. The indicators used to meet criterion D1C3 for these stocks are common to those used for criterion D3C3, which could not be filled in during this assessment. Criterion D1C2 has no operational indicators for deepwater flounder. This is linked to the lack of an operational monitoring programme and of data to develop indicators. Furthermore, the literature review carried out for this species did not provide information on this criterion, but only on the overall status of the species. The methodological standards associated with these criteria will be specified following further studies, as provided for in Ministerial Order 2019 on the definition of good environmental status of marine waters.
D1.4: Criterion D1C1 has not been assessed for commercially exploited stocks as it relates only to non-commercially exploited species. The indicators used for criterion D1C3 for these stocks are common to those of D3C3 which could not be reported in this assessment. There is no operational indicator for D1C1 for coastal fish, for D1C2 and D1C3 for 2 species of seahorses and for D1C1, D1C2 and D1C3 for basking shark, porbeagle and angel shark. This is linked to the lack of an operational monitoring programme and of data to develop indicators. The literature review carried out for these species did not provide information on the overall status of the species. The methodological standards associated with these criteria will be specified following further studies, as provided for in Ministerial Order 2019 on the definition of good environmental status of marine waters. D1.4: Criterion D1C1 targets non-commercially harvested fish species at risk of being caught accidentally. However, knowledge for these species is even more patchy than for commercially exploited species. Moreover, mortality related to accidental catches is very difficult to qualify and quantify. The list of non-commercially exploited fish species at risk of being caught accidentally, and the mortality thresholds due to accidental catches for each of these species, will be specified following further studies, as provided for in Ministerial Order 2019 on the definition of good environmental status of marine waters. |
D1C2: None
|