In accordance with the advice given in Guidance 14 (Walmsley, S.F., Weiss, A., Claussen, U., Connor, D. 2017 Guidance for Assessments Under Article 8 of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, Integration of assessment results. ABPmer Report No R.2733, produced for the European Commission, DG Environment, February 2017), the assessment of the D6C3 criterion has to be carried out for each habitat type and the results of D6C3 are not integrated. Moreover, no threshold has been defined to date for the "Scope" parameter: the status of criterion D6C3 is therefore not filled in. However, this assessment shows that professional trolling is the activity mainly responsible for the potential physical disturbance induced on the major benthic habitat types in the northern part of the Bay of Biscay marine sub-region. The spatial extent of the potentially disturbed "abyssal zone" habitat is 1631.6 km², i.e. 3.9% of the total habitat area in the northern part of the Bay of Biscay marine sub-region. The areas and relative percentages calculated for this assessment should nevertheless be put into perspective, particularly in view of the data and the method used to characterise the areas subject to physical disturbance induced by trolling fishing activities.

In accordance with the advice given in Guidance 14 (Walmsley, S.F., Weiss, A., Claussen, U., Connor, D. 2017 Guidance for Assessments Under Article 8 of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, Integration of assessment results. ABPmer Report No R.2733, produced for the European Commission, DG Environment, February 2017), the assessment of the D6C3 criterion has to be carried out for each habitat type and the results of D6C3 are not integrated. Moreover, no threshold has been defined to date for the "Scope" parameter: the status of criterion D6C3 is therefore not filled in. However, this assessment shows that professional trolling is the activity mainly responsible for the potential physical disturbance induced on the major benthic habitat types in the northern part of the Bay of Biscay marine sub-region. The spatial extent of the potentially disturbed "coastal circalittoral coarse sediment" habitat is 3000.1 km², i.e. 95% of the total habitat area in the northern part of the Bay of Biscay marine sub-region. The areas and relative percentages calculated for this assessment should nevertheless be put into perspective, particularly in view of the data and the method used to characterise the areas subject to physical disturbance induced by trolling fishing activities.

In accordance with the advice given in Guidance 14 (Walmsley, S.F., Weiss, A., Claussen, U., Connor, D. 2017 Guidance for Assessments Under Article 8 of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, Integration of assessment results. ABPmer Report No R.2733, produced for the European Commission, DG Environment, February 2017), the assessment of the D6C3 criterion has to be carried out for each habitat type and the results of D6C3 are not integrated. Moreover, no threshold has been defined to date for the "Scope" parameter: the status of criterion D6C3 is therefore not filled in. However, this assessment shows that professional trolling is the activity mainly responsible for the potential physical disturbance induced on the major benthic habitat types in the northern part of the Bay of Biscay marine sub-region. The spatial extent of the potentially disturbed "coastal circalittoral heterogeneous sediment" habitat is 1682.4 km², i.e. 99.3% of the total habitat area in the northern part of the Bay of Biscay marine sub-region. The areas and relative percentages calculated for this assessment should nevertheless be put into perspective, particularly in view of the data and the method used to characterise the areas subject to physical disturbance induced by trolling fishing activities.

In accordance with the advice given in Guidance 14 (Walmsley, S.F., Weiss, A., Claussen, U., Connor, D. 2017 Guidance for Assessments Under Article 8 of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, Integration of assessment results. ABPmer Report No R.2733, produced for the European Commission, DG Environment, February 2017), the assessment of the D6C3 criterion has to be carried out for each habitat type and the results of D6C3 are not integrated. Moreover, no threshold has been defined to date for the "Scope" parameter: the status of criterion D6C3 is therefore not filled in. However, this assessment shows that professional trolling is the activity mainly responsible for the potential physical disturbance induced on the major benthic habitat types in the northern part of the Bay of Biscay marine sub-region. The spatial extent of the potentially disturbed "coastal circalittoral mud" habitat is 1183.8 km², i.e. 91.9% of the total habitat area in the northern part of the Bay of Biscay marine sub-region. The areas and relative percentages calculated for this assessment should nevertheless be put into perspective, particularly in view of the data and the method used to characterise the areas subject to physical disturbance induced by trolling fishing activities.

In accordance with the advice given in Guidance 14 (Walmsley, S.F., Weiss, A., Claussen, U., Connor, D. 2017 Guidance for Assessments Under Article 8 of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, Integration of assessment results. ABPmer Report No R.2733, produced for the European Commission, DG Environment, February 2017), the assessment of the D6C3 criterion has to be carried out for each habitat type and the results of D6C3 are not integrated. Moreover, no threshold has been defined to date for the "Scope" parameter: the status of criterion D6C3 is therefore not filled in. However, this assessment shows that professional trolling is the activity mainly responsible for the potential physical disturbance induced on the major benthic habitat types in the northern part of the Bay of Biscay marine sub-region. The spatial extent of the potentially disturbed "coastal circalittoral biogenic rocks and reefs" habitat is 2124 km², i.e. 92.1% of the total habitat area in the northern part of the Bay of Biscay marine sub-region. The areas and relative percentages calculated for this assessment should nevertheless be put into perspective, particularly in view of the data and the method used to characterise the areas subject to physical disturbance induced by trolling fishing activities.

In accordance with the advice given in Guidance 14 (Walmsley, S.F., Weiss, A., Claussen, U., Connor, D. 2017 Guidance for Assessments Under Article 8 of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, Integration of assessment results. ABPmer Report No R.2733, produced for the European Commission, DG Environment, February 2017), the D6C3 assessment must be carried out for each habitat type and the D6C3 results are not integrated. Furthermore, no threshold has been defined so far for the parameter "Extent": the status of the D6C3 criterion is therefore not reported. However, this assessment shows that professional trolling is the activity mainly responsible for the potential physical disturbance induced on the major benthic habitat types in the northern part of the Bay of Biscay marine sub-region. The spatial extent of the potentially disturbed "coastal circalittoral sands" habitat is 1793.9 km², i.e. 96.3% of the total surface area of the habitat in the northern part of the Bay of Biscay Marine Sub-Region. The relative areas and percentages calculated for this assessment should nevertheless be put into perspective, in particular because of the data and the method used to characterise the areas subject to physical disturbance induced by troll fishing activities.

In accordance with the advice given in Guidance 14 (Walmsley, S.F., Weiss, A., Claussen, U., Connor, D. 2017 Guidance for Assessments Under Article 8 of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, Integration of assessment results. ABPmer Report No R.2733, produced for the European Commission, DG Environment, February 2017), the D6C3 assessment must be carried out for each habitat type and the D6C3 results are not integrated. Furthermore, no threshold has been defined so far for the parameter "Extent": the status of the D6C3 criterion is therefore not reported. However, this assessment shows that professional trolling is the activity mainly responsible for the potential physical disturbance induced on the major benthic habitat types in the northern part of the Bay of Biscay marine sub-region. The spatial extent of the potentially disturbed "coarse subtidal sediment" habitat is 200.2 km², i.e. 51.7% of the total habitat area in the northern part of the Bay of Biscay Marine Sub-Region. The areas and relative percentages calculated for this assessment should nevertheless be put into perspective, particularly in view of the data and the method used to characterise the areas subject to physical disturbance induced by troll fishing activities.

In accordance with the advice given in Guidance 14 (Walmsley, S.F., Weiss, A., Claussen, U., Connor, D. 2017 Guidance for Assessments Under Article 8 of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, Integration of assessment results. ABPmer Report No R.2733, produced for the European Commission, DG Environment, February 2017), the D6C3 assessment must be carried out for each habitat type and the D6C3 results are not integrated. Furthermore, no threshold has been defined so far for the parameter "Extent": the status of the D6C3 criterion is therefore not reported. However, this assessment shows that professional trolling is the activity mainly responsible for the potential physical disturbance induced on the major benthic habitat types in the northern part of the Bay of Biscay marine sub-region. The spatial extent of the potentially disturbed "subtidal heterogeneous sediment" habitat is 5.5 km², i.e. 24.9% of the total habitat area in the northern part of the Bay of Biscay Marine Sub-Region. The relative areas and percentages calculated for this assessment should nevertheless be put into perspective, particularly in view of the data and the method used to characterise the areas subject to physical disturbance induced by troll fishing activities.

In accordance with the advice given in Guidance 14 (Walmsley, S.F., Weiss, A., Claussen, U., Connor, D. 2017 Guidance for Assessments Under Article 8 of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, Integration of assessment results. ABPmer Report No R.2733, produced for the European Commission, DG Environment, February 2017), the D6C3 assessment must be carried out for each habitat type and the D6C3 results are not integrated. Furthermore, no threshold has been defined so far for the parameter "Extent": the status of the D6C3 criterion is therefore not reported. However, this assessment shows that professional trolling is the activity mainly responsible for the potential physical disturbance induced on the major benthic habitat types in the northern part of the Bay of Biscay marine sub-region. The spatial extent of the potentially disturbed "infralittoral mud" habitat is 80.2 km², i.e. 39.1% of the total habitat area in the northern part of the Bay of Biscay Marine Sub-Region. The areas and relative percentages calculated for this assessment should nevertheless be put into perspective, particularly in view of the data and the method used to characterise the areas subject to physical disturbance induced by dragging fishing activities.

In accordance with the advice given in Guidance 14 (Walmsley, S.F., Weiss, A., Claussen, U., Connor, D. 2017 Guidance for Assessments Under Article 8 of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, Integration of assessment results. ABPmer Report No R.2733, produced for the European Commission, DG Environment, February 2017), the D6C3 assessment must be carried out for each habitat type and the D6C3 results are not integrated. Furthermore, no threshold has been defined so far for the parameter "Extent": the status of the D6C3 criterion is therefore not reported. However, this assessment shows that professional trolling is the activity mainly responsible for the potential physical disturbance induced on the major benthic habitat types in the northern part of the Bay of Biscay marine sub-region. The spatial extent of the potentially disturbed "subtidal biogenic rocks and reefs" habitat is 307.2 km², i.e. 54.9% of the total habitat area in the northern part of the Bay of Biscay Marine Sub-Region. The areas and relative percentages calculated for this assessment should nevertheless be put into perspective, particularly in view of the data and the method used to characterise the areas subject to physical disturbance induced by troll fishing activities.

In accordance with the advice given in Guidance 14 (Walmsley, S.F., Weiss, A., Claussen, U., Connor, D. 2017 Guidance for Assessments Under Article 8 of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, Integration of assessment results. ABPmer Report No R.2733, produced for the European Commission, DG Environment, February 2017), the D6C3 assessment must be carried out for each habitat type and the D6C3 results are not integrated. Furthermore, no threshold has been defined so far for the parameter "Extent": the status of the D6C3 criterion is therefore not reported. However, this assessment shows that professional trolling is the activity mainly responsible for the potential physical disturbance induced on the major benthic habitat types in the northern part of the Bay of Biscay marine sub-region. The spatial extent of the potentially disturbed "infralittoral sands" habitat is 220.2 km², i.e. 60.7% of the total surface area of the habitat in the northern part of the Bay of Biscay Marine Sub-Region. The surface areas and relative percentages calculated for this assessment should nevertheless be put into perspective, in particular because of the data and the method used to characterise the surfaces subject to physical disturbance induced by trolling fishing activities.

In accordance with the advice given in Guidance 14 (Walmsley, S.F., Weiss, A., Claussen, U., Connor, D. 2017 Guidance for Assessments Under Article 8 of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, Integration of assessment results. ABPmer Report No R.2733, produced for the European Commission, DG Environment, February 2017), the D6C3 assessment must be carried out for each habitat type and the D6C3 results are not integrated. Furthermore, no threshold has been defined so far for the parameter "Extent": the status of the D6C3 criterion is therefore not reported. However, this assessment shows that professional trolling is the activity mainly responsible for the potential physical disturbance induced on the major benthic habitat types in the northern part of the Bay of Biscay marine sub-region. The spatial extent of the potentially disturbed "lower bathyal sediment" habitat is 2700.6 km², i.e. 56.6% of the total area of the habitat in the northern part of the Bay of Biscay Marine Sub-Region. The areas and relative percentages calculated for this assessment should nevertheless be put into perspective, in particular because of the data and the method used to characterise the areas subject to physical disturbance induced by trolling activities.

In accordance with the advice given in Guidance 14 (Walmsley, S.F., Weiss, A., Claussen, U., Connor, D. 2017 Guidance for Assessments Under Article 8 of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, Integration of assessment results. ABPmer Report No R.2733, produced for the European Commission, DG Environment, February 2017), the D6C3 assessment must be carried out for each habitat type and the D6C3 results are not integrated. Furthermore, no threshold has been defined so far for the parameter "Extent": the status of the D6C3 criterion is therefore not reported. However, this assessment shows that professional trolling is the activity mainly responsible for the potential physical disturbance induced on the major benthic habitat types in the northern part of the Bay of Biscay marine sub-region. The total spatial extent of the potentially disturbed "coarse circalittoral offshore sediment" habitat is 3018.8 km², i.e. 100% of the total habitat area in the northern Bay of Biscay Marine Sub-Region. The relative areas and percentages calculated for this assessment should nevertheless be put into perspective, particularly in view of the data and the method used to characterise the areas subject to physical disturbance induced by troll fishing activities.

In accordance with the advice given in Guidance 14 (Walmsley, S.F., Weiss, A., Claussen, U., Connor, D. 2017 Guidance for Assessments Under Article 8 of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, Integration of assessment results. ABPmer Report No R.2733, produced for the European Commission, DG Environment, February 2017), the D6C3 assessment must be carried out for each habitat type and the D6C3 results are not integrated. Furthermore, no threshold has been defined so far for the parameter "Extent": the status of the D6C3 criterion is therefore not reported. However, this assessment shows that professional trolling is the activity mainly responsible for the potential physical disturbance induced on the major benthic habitat types in the northern part of the Bay of Biscay marine sub-region. The spatial extent of the potentially disturbed "Offshore circalittoral mixed sediment" habitat is 3140.8 km², i.e. 100% of the total area of the habitat in the northern part of the Bay of Biscay Marine Sub-Region. The relative areas and percentages calculated for this assessment should nevertheless be put into perspective, in particular because of the data and the method used to characterise the areas subject to physical disturbance induced by troll fishing activities.

In accordance with the advice given in Guidance 14 (Walmsley, S.F., Weiss, A., Claussen, U., Connor, D. 2017 Guidance for Assessments Under Article 8 of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, Integration of assessment results. ABPmer Report No R.2733, produced for the European Commission, DG Environment, February 2017), the D6C3 assessment must be carried out for each habitat type and the D6C3 results are not integrated. Furthermore, no threshold has been defined so far for the parameter "Extent": the status of the D6C3 criterion is therefore not reported. However, this assessment shows that professional trolling is the activity mainly responsible for the potential physical disturbance induced on the major benthic habitat types in the northern part of the Bay of Biscay marine sub-region. The spatial extent of the potentially disturbed "offshore circalittoral mud" habitat is 16198.8 km², i.e. 100% of the total habitat area in the northern part of the Bay of Biscay Marine Sub-Region. The relative areas and percentages calculated for this assessment should nevertheless be put into perspective, in particular because of the data and the method used to characterise the areas subject to physical disturbance induced by troll fishing activities.

In accordance with the advice given in Guidance 14 (Walmsley, S.F., Weiss, A., Claussen, U., Connor, D. 2017 Guidance for Assessments Under Article 8 of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, Integration of assessment results. ABPmer Report No R.2733, produced for the European Commission, DG Environment, February 2017), the D6C3 assessment must be carried out for each habitat type and the D6C3 results are not integrated. Furthermore, no threshold has been defined so far for the parameter "Extent": the status of the D6C3 criterion is therefore not reported. However, this assessment shows that professional trolling is the activity mainly responsible for the potential physical disturbance induced on the major benthic habitat types in the northern part of the Bay of Biscay marine sub-region. The spatial extent of the potentially disturbed "offshore circalittoral biogenic rocks and reefs" habitat is 1264.2 km², i.e. 99.9% of the total surface area of the habitat in the northern part of the Bay of Biscay Marine Sub-Region. The surface areas and relative percentages calculated for this assessment should nevertheless be put into perspective, in particular because of the data and the method used to characterise the surfaces subject to physical disturbance induced by trolling fishing activities.

In accordance with the advice given in Guidance 14 (Walmsley, S.F., Weiss, A., Claussen, U., Connor, D. 2017 Guidance for Assessments Under Article 8 of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, Integration of assessment results. ABPmer Report No R.2733, produced for the European Commission, DG Environment, February 2017), the D6C3 assessment must be carried out for each habitat type and the D6C3 results are not integrated. Furthermore, no threshold has been defined so far for the parameter "Extent": the status of the D6C3 criterion is therefore not reported. However, this assessment shows that professional trolling is the activity mainly responsible for the potential physical disturbance induced on the major benthic habitat types in the northern part of the Bay of Biscay marine sub-region. The total spatial extent of the potentially disturbed "offshore circalittoral sands" habitat is 11439.1 km², i.e. 100% of the total habitat area in the north of the Bay of Biscay Marine Sub-Region. The areas and relative percentages calculated for this assessment should nevertheless be put into perspective, particularly in view of the data and the method used to characterise the areas subject to physical disturbance induced by dragging fishing activities.

In accordance with the advice given in Guidance 14 (Walmsley, S.F., Weiss, A., Claussen, U., Connor, D. 2017 Guidance for Assessments Under Article 8 of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, Integration of assessment results. ABPmer Report No R.2733, produced for the European Commission, DG Environment, February 2017), the D6C3 assessment must be carried out for each habitat type and the D6C3 results are not integrated. Furthermore, no threshold has been defined so far for the parameter "Extent": the status of the D6C3 criterion is therefore not reported. However, this assessment shows that professional trolling is the activity mainly responsible for the potential physical disturbance induced on the major benthic habitat types in the northern part of the Bay of Biscay marine sub-region. The spatial extent of the potentially disturbed "upper bathyal sediment" habitat is 5941.4 km², i.e. 98.3% of the total habitat area in the northern part of the Bay of Biscay Marine Sub-Region. The relative areas and percentages calculated for this assessment should nevertheless be put into perspective, in particular because of the data and the method used to characterise the areas subject to physical disturbance induced by troll fishing activities.

In accordance with the advice given in Guidance 14 (Walmsley, S.F., Weiss, A., Claussen, U., Connor, D. 2017 Guidance for Assessments Under Article 8 of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, Integration of assessment results. ABPmer Report No R.2733, produced for the European Commission, DG Environment, February 2017) no threshold is to be specified for D6C2: the status of the D6C2 criterion is therefore not reported. However, the assessment of criterion D6C2 shows that the spatial extent of the potential physical disturbance of the seabed is 56 000 km², i.e. about 57% of the area of the MRU. Although the use of available data on professional troll fishing increases the actual area under pressure, the assessment shows that almost 100% of the area of potential physical disturbance of the seabed is attributable to this activity.

In accordance with the advice given in Guidance 14 (Walmsley, S.F., Weiss, A., Claussen, U., Connor, D. 2017 Guidance for Assessments Under Article 8 of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, Integration of assessment results. ABPmer Report No R.2733, produced for the European Commission, DG Environment, February 2017) no threshold is to be specified for D6C1: the status of the D6C1 criterion is therefore not reported. However, the assessment of criterion D6C1 shows that the potential physical losses represent an area of 77.1 km², i.e. less than 0.1% of the area of the MRU. The potential physical losses are mainly due to marine works (material extraction, coastal works, dredging, dumping).

In accordance with the advice given in Guidance 14 (Walmsley, S.F., Weiss, A., Claussen, U., Connor, D. 2017 Guidance for Assessments Under Article 8 of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, Integration of assessment results. ABPmer Report No R.2733, produced for the European Commission, DG Environment, February 2017), the D6C3 assessment must be carried out for each habitat type and the D6C3 results are not integrated. Furthermore, no threshold has been defined so far for the parameter "Extent": the status of the D6C3 criterion is therefore not reported. However, this assessment shows that professional trolling is the activity mainly responsible for the potential physical disturbance induced on the major benthic habitat types in the southern part of the Bay of Biscay marine sub-region. The spatial extent of the potentially disturbed "abyssal zone" habitat is 1139.4 km², i.e. 2.7% of the total habitat surface area in the south of the Bay of Biscay Marine Sub-Region. The surface areas and relative percentages calculated for this assessment should nevertheless be put into perspective, in particular because of the data and the method used to characterise the surfaces subject to physical disturbance induced by trolling fishing activities.

In accordance with the advice given in Guidance 14 (Walmsley, S.F., Weiss, A., Claussen, U., Connor, D. 2017 Guidance for Assessments Under Article 8 of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, Integration of assessment results. ABPmer Report No R.2733, produced for the European Commission, DG Environment, February 2017), the D6C3 assessment must be carried out for each habitat type and the D6C3 results are not integrated. Furthermore, no threshold has been defined so far for the parameter "Extent": the status of the D6C3 criterion is therefore not reported. However, this assessment shows that professional trolling is the activity mainly responsible for the potential physical disturbance induced on the major benthic habitat types in the southern part of the Bay of Biscay marine sub-region. The spatial extent of the potentially disturbed "coastal circalittoral coarse sediment" habitat is 2600.2 km², i.e. 99.2% of the total habitat area in the southern Bay of Biscay Marine Sub-Region. The areas and relative percentages calculated for this assessment should nevertheless be put into perspective, particularly in view of the data and the method used to characterise the areas subject to physical disturbance induced by dragging fishing activities.

In accordance with the advice given in Guidance 14 (Walmsley, S.F., Weiss, A., Claussen, U., Connor, D. 2017 Guidance for Assessments Under Article 8 of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, Integration of assessment results. ABPmer Report No R.2733, produced for the European Commission, DG Environment, February 2017), the D6C3 assessment must be carried out for each habitat type and the D6C3 results are not integrated. Furthermore, no threshold has been defined so far for the parameter "Extent": the status of the D6C3 criterion is therefore not reported. However, this assessment shows that professional trolling is the activity mainly responsible for the potential physical disturbance induced on the major benthic habitat types in the southern part of the Bay of Biscay marine sub-region. The spatial extent of the potentially disturbed "coastal circalittoral mixed sediment" habitat is 1176.3 km², i.e. 100% of the total habitat area in the southern Bay of Biscay sub-marine region. The areas and relative percentages calculated for this assessment should nevertheless be put into perspective, in particular because of the data and the method used to characterise the areas subject to physical disturbance induced by dragging fishing activities.

In accordance with the advice given in Guidance 14 (Walmsley, S.F., Weiss, A., Claussen, U., Connor, D. 2017 Guidance for Assessments Under Article 8 of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, Integration of assessment results. ABPmer Report No R.2733, produced for the European Commission, DG Environment, February 2017), the D6C3 assessment must be carried out for each habitat type and the D6C3 results are not integrated. Furthermore, no threshold has been defined so far for the parameter "Extent": the status of the D6C3 criterion is therefore not reported. However, this assessment shows that professional trolling is the activity mainly responsible for the potential physical disturbance induced on the major benthic habitat types in the southern part of the Bay of Biscay marine sub-region. The spatial extent of the potentially disturbed "coastal circalittoral mud" habitat is 1839.9 km², i.e. 95.2% of the total habitat area in the southern Bay of Biscay Marine Sub-Region. The areas and relative percentages calculated for this assessment should nevertheless be put into perspective, in particular because of the data and the method used to characterise the areas subject to physical disturbance induced by dragging fishing activities.

In accordance with the advice given in Guidance 14 (Walmsley, S.F., Weiss, A., Claussen, U., Connor, D. 2017 Guidance for Assessments Under Article 8 of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, Integration of assessment results. ABPmer Report No R.2733, produced for the European Commission, DG Environment, February 2017), the D6C3 assessment must be carried out for each habitat type and the D6C3 results are not integrated. Furthermore, no threshold has been defined so far for the parameter "Extent": the status of the D6C3 criterion is therefore not reported. However, this assessment shows that professional trolling is the activity mainly responsible for the potential physical disturbance induced on the major benthic habitat types in the southern part of the Bay of Biscay marine sub-region. The spatial extent of the potentially disturbed "coastal circalittoral biogenic rocks and reefs" habitat is 624.5 km², i.e. 97.1% of the total habitat area in the southern Bay of Biscay Marine Sub-Region. The areas and relative percentages calculated for this assessment should nevertheless be put into perspective, particularly in view of the data and the method used to characterise the areas subject to physical disturbance induced by troll fishing activities.

In accordance with the advice given in Guidance 14 (Walmsley, S.F., Weiss, A., Claussen, U., Connor, D. 2017 Guidance for Assessments Under Article 8 of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, Integration of assessment results. ABPmer Report No R.2733, produced for the European Commission, DG Environment, February 2017), the D6C3 assessment must be carried out for each habitat type and the D6C3 results are not integrated. Furthermore, no threshold has been defined so far for the parameter "Extent": the status of the D6C3 criterion is therefore not reported. However, this assessment shows that professional trolling is the activity mainly responsible for the potential physical disturbance induced on the major benthic habitat types in the southern part of the Bay of Biscay marine sub-region. The spatial extent of the potentially disturbed "coastal circalittoral sands" habitat is 6517.6 km², i.e. 98.7% of the total habitat area in the southern Bay of Biscay Marine Sub-Region. The areas and relative percentages calculated for this assessment should nevertheless be put into perspective, particularly in view of the data and the method used to characterise the areas subject to physical disturbance induced by dragging arts fishing activities.

In accordance with the advice given in Guidance 14 (Walmsley, S.F., Weiss, A., Claussen, U., Connor, D. 2017 Guidance for Assessments Under Article 8 of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, Integration of assessment results. ABPmer Report No R.2733, produced for the European Commission, DG Environment, February 2017), the D6C3 assessment must be carried out for each habitat type and the D6C3 results are not integrated. Furthermore, no threshold has been defined so far for the parameter "Extent": the status of the D6C3 criterion is therefore not reported. However, this assessment shows that professional trolling is the activity mainly responsible for the potential physical disturbance induced on the major benthic habitat types in the southern part of the Bay of Biscay marine sub-region. The spatial extent of the potentially disturbed "coarse infralittoral sediment" habitat is 13.1 km², i.e. 41% of the total habitat area in the southern Bay of Biscay sub-marine region. The areas and relative percentages calculated for this assessment should nevertheless be put into perspective, particularly in view of the data and the method used to characterise the areas subject to physical disturbance induced by dragging fishing activities.

In accordance with the advice given in Guidance 14 (Walmsley, S.F., Weiss, A., Claussen, U., Connor, D. 2017 Guidance for Assessments Under Article 8 of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, Integration of assessment results. ABPmer Report No R.2733, produced for the European Commission, DG Environment, February 2017), the D6C3 assessment must be carried out for each habitat type and the D6C3 results are not integrated. Furthermore, no threshold has been defined so far for the parameter "Extent": the status of the D6C3 criterion is therefore not reported. However, this assessment shows that professional trolling is the activity mainly responsible for the potential physical disturbance induced on the major benthic habitat types in the southern part of the Bay of Biscay marine sub-region. For the infralittoral mud flats, another activity is responsible for significant potential physical disturbance: aquaculture, responsible for 18% of the potentially disturbed surface area (fishing being responsible for 78% of the potential disturbance). The spatial extent of the potentially disturbed "infralittoral mud" habitat is 59.8 km², i.e. 27.2% of the total surface area of the habitat in the south of the Bay of Biscay marine sub-region. The surface areas and relative percentages calculated for this assessment should nevertheless be put into perspective, in particular because of the data and the method used to characterise the surfaces subject to physical disturbance induced by dragging arts fishing activities.

In accordance with the advice given in Guidance 14 (Walmsley, S.F., Weiss, A., Claussen, U., Connor, D. 2017 Guidance for Assessments Under Article 8 of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, Integration of assessment results. ABPmer Report No R.2733, produced for the European Commission, DG Environment, February 2017), the D6C3 assessment must be carried out for each habitat type and the D6C3 results are not integrated. Furthermore, no threshold has been defined so far for the parameter "Extent": the status of the D6C3 criterion is therefore not reported. However, this assessment shows that professional trolling is the activity mainly responsible for the potential physical disturbance induced on the major benthic habitat types in the southern part of the Bay of Biscay marine sub-region. The spatial extent of the potentially disturbed " infralittoral biogenic rocks and reefs " habitat is 123.5 km², i.e. 59.2% of the total surface area of the habitat in the south of the Bay of Biscay marine sub-region. The surface areas and relative percentages calculated for this assessment should nevertheless be put into perspective, in particular because of the data and the method used to characterise the surfaces subject to physical disturbance induced by trolling fishing activities.

In accordance with the advice given in Guidance 14 (Walmsley, S.F., Weiss, A., Claussen, U., Connor, D. 2017 Guidance for Assessments Under Article 8 of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, Integration of assessment results. ABPmer Report No R.2733, produced for the European Commission, DG Environment, February 2017), the D6C3 assessment must be carried out for each habitat type and the D6C3 results are not integrated. Furthermore, no threshold has been defined so far for the parameter "Extent": the status of the D6C3 criterion is therefore not reported. However, this assessment shows that professional trolling is the activity mainly responsible for the potential physical disturbance induced on the major benthic habitat types in the southern part of the Bay of Biscay marine sub-region. The spatial extent of the potentially disturbed "infralittoral sands" habitat is 527.6 km², i.e. 80.7% of the total surface area of the habitat in the south of the Bay of Biscay marine sub-region. The relative surfaces and percentages calculated for this assessment should nevertheless be put into perspective, in particular because of the data and the method used to characterise the surfaces subject to physical disturbance induced by trolling fishing activities.

In accordance with the advice given in Guidance 14 (Walmsley, S.F., Weiss, A., Claussen, U., Connor, D. 2017 Guidance for Assessments Under Article 8 of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, Integration of assessment results. ABPmer Report No R.2733, produced for the European Commission, DG Environment, February 2017), the D6C3 assessment must be carried out for each habitat type and the D6C3 results are not integrated. Furthermore, no threshold has been defined so far for the parameter "Extent": the status of the D6C3 criterion is therefore not reported. However, this assessment shows that professional trolling is the activity mainly responsible for the potential physical disturbance induced on the major benthic habitat types in the southern part of the Bay of Biscay marine sub-region. The rocks and reefs of the lower bathyal could not be fully distinguished from the sediments of the lower bathyal. As a result, the two habitats are partially assessed together. The spatial extent of this potentially disturbed "sediments or rocks and reefs of the lower bathyal" habitat is 0 km², i.e. 0% of the total surface area of the habitat in the southern part of the Bay of Biscay Marine Sub-Region. The areas and relative percentages calculated for this assessment should nevertheless be put into perspective, particularly in view of the data and the method used to characterise the areas subject to physical disturbance induced by dragging fishing activities.

In accordance with the advice given in Guidance 14 (Walmsley, S.F., Weiss, A., Claussen, U., Connor, D. 2017 Guidance for Assessments Under Article 8 of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, Integration of assessment results. ABPmer Report No R.2733, produced for the European Commission, DG Environment, February 2017), the D6C3 assessment must be carried out for each habitat type and the D6C3 results are not integrated. Furthermore, no threshold has been defined so far for the parameter "Extent": the status of the D6C3 criterion is therefore not reported. However, this assessment shows that professional trolling is the activity mainly responsible for the potential physical disturbance induced on the major benthic habitat types in the southern part of the Bay of Biscay marine sub-region. The spatial extent of the potentially disturbed "lower bathyal sediment" habitat is 805.7 km², i.e. 22.1% of the total habitat area in the southern Bay of Biscay Marine Sub-Region. In addition, it was not possible to fully differentiate between Lower Bathyal rocks and reefs and Lower Bathyal sediments. As a result, the two habitats are partially assessed together. The spatial extent of this potentially disturbed "sediments or rocks and reefs of the lower bathyal" habitat is 0 km², i.e. 0% of the total surface area of the habitat in the southern part of the Bay of Biscay marine sub-region. The relative surfaces and percentages calculated for this assessment should nevertheless be put into perspective, particularly because of the data and the method used to characterise the surfaces subject to physical disturbance induced by trolling activities.

In accordance with the advice given in Guidance 14 (Walmsley, S.F., Weiss, A., Claussen, U., Connor, D. 2017 Guidance for Assessments Under Article 8 of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, Integration of assessment results. ABPmer Report No R.2733, produced for the European Commission, DG Environment, February 2017), the D6C3 assessment must be carried out for each habitat type and the D6C3 results are not integrated. Furthermore, no threshold has been defined so far for the parameter "Extent": the status of the D6C3 criterion is therefore not reported. However, this assessment shows that professional trolling is the activity mainly responsible for the potential physical disturbance induced on the major benthic habitat types in the southern part of the Bay of Biscay marine sub-region. The total spatial extent of the potentially disturbed "coarse circalittoral offshore sediment" habitat is 2172.4 km², i.e. 100% of the total surface area of the habitat in the southern Bay of Biscay Marine Sub-Region. The relative areas and percentages calculated for this assessment should nevertheless be put into perspective, in particular because of the data and the method used to characterise the areas subject to physical disturbance induced by trolling activities.

In accordance with the advice given in Guidance 14 (Walmsley, S.F., Weiss, A., Claussen, U., Connor, D. 2017 Guidance for Assessments Under Article 8 of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, Integration of assessment results. ABPmer Report No R.2733, produced for the European Commission, DG Environment, February 2017), the D6C3 assessment must be carried out for each habitat type and the D6C3 results are not integrated. Furthermore, no threshold has been defined so far for the parameter "Extent": the status of the D6C3 criterion is therefore not reported. However, this assessment shows that professional trolling is the activity mainly responsible for the potential physical disturbance induced on the major benthic habitat types in the southern part of the Bay of Biscay marine sub-region. The spatial extent of the potentially disturbed "offshore circalittoral mixed sediment" habitat is 660.2 km², i.e. 100% of the total surface area of the habitat in the southern Bay of Biscay marine sub-region. The relative surfaces and percentages calculated for this assessment should nevertheless be put into perspective, particularly because of the data and the method used to characterise the surfaces subject to physical disturbance induced by troll fishing activities.

In accordance with the advice given in Guidance 14 (Walmsley, S.F., Weiss, A., Claussen, U., Connor, D. 2017 Guidance for Assessments Under Article 8 of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, Integration of assessment results. ABPmer Report No R.2733, produced for the European Commission, DG Environment, February 2017), the D6C3 assessment must be carried out for each habitat type and the D6C3 results are not integrated. Furthermore, no threshold has been defined so far for the parameter "Extent": the status of the D6C3 criterion is therefore not reported. However, this assessment shows that professional trolling is the activity mainly responsible for the potential physical disturbance induced on the major benthic habitat types in the southern part of the Bay of Biscay marine sub-region. The spatial extent of the potentially disturbed "offshore circalittoral mud" habitat is 3637.8 km², i.e. 99.7% of the total habitat area in the southern Bay of Biscay Marine Sub-Region. The relative areas and percentages calculated for this assessment should nevertheless be put into perspective, in particular because of the data and the method used to characterise the areas subject to physical disturbance induced by troll fishing activities.

In accordance with the advice given in Guidance 14 (Walmsley, S.F., Weiss, A., Claussen, U., Connor, D. 2017 Guidance for Assessments Under Article 8 of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, Integration of assessment results. ABPmer Report No R.2733, produced for the European Commission, DG Environment, February 2017), the D6C3 assessment must be carried out for each habitat type and the D6C3 results are not integrated. Furthermore, no threshold has been defined so far for the parameter "Extent": the status of the D6C3 criterion is therefore not reported. However, this assessment shows that professional trolling is the activity mainly responsible for the potential physical disturbance induced on the major benthic habitat types in the southern part of the Bay of Biscay marine sub-region. The spatial extent of the potentially disturbed "offshore circalittoral biogenic rocks and reefs" habitat is 1001.9 km², i.e. 99.9% of the total surface area of the habitat in the southern Bay of Biscay Marine Sub-Region. The relative areas and percentages calculated for this assessment should nevertheless be put into perspective, in particular because of the data and the method used to characterise the areas subject to physical disturbance induced by trolling fishing activities.

In accordance with the advice given in Guidance 14 (Walmsley, S.F., Weiss, A., Claussen, U., Connor, D. 2017 Guidance for Assessments Under Article 8 of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, Integration of assessment results. ABPmer Report No R.2733, produced for the European Commission, DG Environment, February 2017), the D6C3 assessment must be carried out for each habitat type and the D6C3 results are not integrated. Furthermore, no threshold has been defined so far for the parameter "Extent": the status of the D6C3 criterion is therefore not reported. However, this assessment shows that professional trolling is the activity mainly responsible for the potential physical disturbance induced on the major benthic habitat types in the southern part of the Bay of Biscay marine sub-region. The total spatial extent of the potentially disturbed "offshore circalittoral sands" habitat is 14511 km², i.e. 100% of the total habitat area in the southern Bay of Biscay sub-marine region. The areas and relative percentages calculated for this assessment should nevertheless be put into perspective, particularly in view of the data and the method used to characterise the areas subject to physical disturbance induced by dragging fishing activities.

In accordance with the advice given in Guidance 14 (Walmsley, S.F., Weiss, A., Claussen, U., Connor, D. 2017 Guidance for Assessments Under Article 8 of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, Integration of assessment results. ABPmer Report No R.2733, produced for the European Commission, DG Environment, February 2017), the D6C3 assessment must be carried out for each habitat type and the D6C3 results are not integrated. Furthermore, no threshold has been defined so far for the parameter "Extent": the status of the D6C3 criterion is therefore not reported. However, this assessment shows that professional trolling is the activity mainly responsible for the potential physical disturbance induced on the major benthic habitat types in the southern part of the Bay of Biscay marine sub-region. The spatial extent of the potentially disturbed "Upper Bathyal Rocks and Reefs" habitat is 2.3 km², i.e. 100% of the total habitat area in the southern Bay of Biscay Marine Sub-Region. Furthermore, it was not possible to fully distinguish the rocks and reefs of the upper bathyal from the sediments of the upper bathyal. As a result, the two habitats are partially assessed together. The spatial extent of this potentially disturbed "sediments or rocks and reefs of the upper bathyal" habitat is 5.4 km², i.e. 39.4% of the total habitat area in the southern part of the Bay of Biscay marine sub-region. The areas and relative percentages calculated for this assessment should nevertheless be put into perspective, in particular because of the data and the method used to characterise the areas subject to physical disturbance induced by dragging fishing activities.

In accordance with the advice given in Guidance 14 (Walmsley, S.F., Weiss, A., Claussen, U., Connor, D. 2017 Guidance for Assessments Under Article 8 of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, Integration of assessment results. ABPmer Report No R.2733, produced for the European Commission, DG Environment, February 2017), the D6C3 assessment must be carried out for each habitat type and the D6C3 results are not integrated. Furthermore, no threshold has been defined so far for the parameter "Extent": the status of the D6C3 criterion is therefore not reported. However, this assessment shows that professional trolling is the activity mainly responsible for the potential physical disturbance induced on the major benthic habitat types in the southern part of the Bay of Biscay marine sub-region. The spatial extent of the potentially disturbed "upper bathyal sediment" habitat is 3500.2 km², i.e. 69.9% of the total habitat area in the southern Bay of Biscay sub-marine region. Furthermore, it was not possible to fully distinguish the rocks and reefs of the upper bathyal from the sediments of the upper bathyal. As a result, the two habitats are partially assessed together. The spatial extent of this potentially disturbed "sediments or rocks and reefs of the upper bathyal" habitat is 5.4 km², i.e. 39.4% of the total habitat area in the southern part of the Bay of Biscay marine sub-region. The areas and relative percentages calculated for this assessment should nevertheless be put into perspective, in particular because of the data and the method used to characterise the areas subject to physical disturbance induced by dragging fishing activities.

In accordance with the advice given in Guidance 14 (Walmsley, S.F., Weiss, A., Claussen, U., Connor, D. 2017 Guidance for Assessments Under Article 8 of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, Integration of assessment results. ABPmer Report No R.2733, produced for the European Commission, DG Environment, February 2017) no threshold is to be specified for D6C2: the status of the D6C2 criterion is therefore not reported. However, the assessment of criterion D6C2 shows that the spatial extent of the potential physical disturbance of the seabed represents 41163 km², i.e. 46% of the surface area of the MRU, essentially on the continental shelf area. Although the use of available data on professional troll fishing increases the actual area under pressure, the assessment shows that almost 96% of the area of potential physical disturbance of the seabed is attributable to this activity.

In accordance with the advice given in Guidance 14 (Walmsley, S.F., Weiss, A., Claussen, U., Connor, D. 2017 Guidance for Assessments Under Article 8 of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, Integration of assessment results. ABPmer Report No R.2733, produced for the European Commission, DG Environment, February 2017) no threshold is to be specified for D6C1: the status of the D6C1 criterion is therefore not reported. However, the assessment of criterion D6C1 shows that the potential physical losses represent an area of 69 km², i.e. less than 0.1% of the area of the MRU. The potential physical losses are mainly due to marine works (material extraction, coastal works, dredging, dumping).