Member State report / Art9 / 2018 / D1-C / 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 Cephalopods |
| Region/subregion | Mediterranean |
| Reported by | Member state |
| Member state | United Kingdom |
Spain |
France |
Italy |
Malta |
Slovenia |
Croatia |
Greece |
Cyprus |
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| Member state report | ||||||||||
| Marine reporting units | MRUs used |
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| Structure, functions and processes of marine ecosystems: Species | All cephalopods |
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| Structure, functions and processes of marine ecosystems: Species | Coastal/shelf cephalopods |
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| GES description | D1 Cephalopods | |||||||||
| GES description | D1C1 Mortality rate from incidental by-catch | |||||||||
| GES description | D1C2 Population abundance (1.2, 1.2.1) | 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 |
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| GES description | D1C3 Population demographic characteristics (1.3, 1.3.1) | |||||||||
| 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 | |||||||||
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| Justification for non-use of criterion | 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.
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D1.5: Due to lack of monitoring and data and not yet established methodological standards and threshold values this species was not possible to assess (all criteria). |
D1C1: None
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| Justification for delay in setting EU/regional requirements |
D1.5: No cephalopod species could be assessed due to lack of data and / or operational indicators. Work on the methodology of D1C2 indicators and thresholds is underway for cephalopods in coastal soft environments from data collected during scientific campaigns. Indicators likely to inform the criteria D1C3 and D1C4 (ICES, 2016) are also identified, but these methodologies are not operational to date and do not allow to quantitatively assess the achievement or not of the good ecological state. knowledge on deep water cephalopods remains very fragmented and questions the very possibility of being able to evaluate them one day. The methodological standards associated with this descriptor will be clarified following further studies, as provided for in the 2019 Ministerial Decree relating to the definition of good ecological status of marine waters. The assessment is available via: https://doi.org/10.13155/60197.
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D1.5: Due to lack of monitoring and data and not yet established methodological standards and threshold values this species was not possible to assess (all criteria). |
D1C2: None
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