G 1.2 Marine habitats listed in the Habitats Directive and referring to the SPA/BD protocol of the Barcelona Convention maintain or achieve a favourable conservation status.
G 6.1 Any significant pressure due to: (a) physical disturbances caused by anthropogenic activities
active on the seabed and b) physical loss on biogenic substrates related to activities
anthropogenic.
These GES G1.2 and G 6.1 includes primary criteria D6C4 and D6C5.

The good status of the marine environment in relation to the status of benthic habitat types is achieved when their quality, presence, distribution is in line with prevailing physiographic, geographic and climatic conditions.


The good status of the marine environment, in view of the quality descriptor for the seabed (D6), is achieved when the state of the seabed is at a level that ensures the protection of the structure and functions of ecosystems and prevents adverse effects in particular on benthic ecosystems.

The physical loss of sea bottoms produced by human activities does not reach a spatial extent that would jeopardise the maintenance of the benthic habitats.

Spatial extent and distribution of physical loss (permanent change) of the natural seabed (Decision 2017/848/EU).

G 6.1 There is no significant pressure due to: (a) physical disturbances caused by human activities active on the seabed and (b) physical loss on biogenic substrates linked to anthropogenic activities.

Seabed potentially affected by physical disturbance does not reach a spatial extent that would jeopardise the maintenance of benthic habitats.

Spatial extent and distribution of pressures from physical disturbance of the seabed (Decision 2017/848/EU).

G 6.1 There is no significant pressure due to: (a) physical disturbances caused by human activities active on the seabed and (b) physical loss on biogenic substrates linked to anthropogenic activities.

The extent of each benthic habitat type adversely affected by physical disturbances keeps negative or stable trends in a way that ensures their conservation.

Spatial extent of each habitat type adversely affected by changes in its biotic and abiotic structure and functions (e.g. change in species composition and relative abundance, absence of particularly sensitive or fragile species or species performing a key function, size structure of species) due to physical disturbance (Decision 2017/848/EU).

G 6.1 There is no significant pressure due to: (a) physical disturbances caused by human activities active on the seabed and (b) physical loss on biogenic substrates linked to anthropogenic activities.

The proportion of the loss surface of each benthic habitat type due to anthropogenic pressures does not threaten the maintenance of the habitat type.

The extent of each habitat type in which benthic communities are kept within values to ensure their durability and performance is maintained or presented with increasing trends.

D6/D1: The GES definition is set at the descriptor level according to the data currently available for condition assessment. One GES definition is set for D6, and another GES definition is set for criteria D6C4 and D6C5.

D6C1: It is necessary to establish the GES to meet the new criteria for D6. However, the definitions should be quite general as threshold and/or reference values have not yet been established.


D6C2: It is necessary to establish the GES to meet the new criteria for D6. However, the definitions should be quite general as threshold and/or reference values have not yet been established.


D6C3: It is necessary to establish the GES to meet the new criteria for D6. However, the definitions should be quite general as threshold and/or reference values have not yet been established.


D6C4: It is necessary to establish the GES to meet the new criteria for D6. However, the definitions should be quite general as threshold and/or reference values have not yet been established.


D6C5: It is necessary to establish the GES to meet the new criteria for D6. However, the definitions should be quite general as threshold and/or reference values have not yet been established.

D6C1: Criterion D6C1 does not have a threshold required in Decision 2017/848/EU.



D6C2: Criterion D6C2 does not have a threshold required in Decision 2017/848/EU.



D6C3: Criterion D6C3 requires the establishment, through cooperation between Member States at regional or sub-regional level, of threshold values for adverse effects of physical disturbance. Such thresholds have not yet been defined for the French marine sub-regions, but work in this direction is under way at the European level, particularly within the framework of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES). The methodological standards associated with this criterion will be specified following further studies, as provided for in Ministerial Order 2019 on the definition of good environmental status of marine waters.



D6C4: No indicators are available for the assessment of criterion D6C4. The methodological standards associated with criterion D6C4 will be further developed following additional studies, as provided for in the Ministerial Order 2019 on the definition of good environmental status of marine waters. The evaluation is available at: https://doi.org/10.13155/60192



D6C5: The assessment of the D6C5 criterion is informed by the calculation of the BenthoVal indicator (Labrune et al., in preparation) selected at the national level. Due to the absence of a defined threshold, criterion D6C5 is not assessed. It should be noted that for this assessment, the BenthoVal indicator could not be calculated for rocky habitats, despite the acquisition of data, because the applicability of BenthoVal to these types of habitats requires further testing. The methodological standards associated with criterion D6C5 will be specified following further studies, as provided for in Ministerial Order 2019 on the definition of good ecological status of marine waters. The evaluation is available at: https://doi.org/10.13155/60192