MWE-EN-MS-MO: Good environmental status is the good functioning of marine ecosystems, their good health and the environmental sustainability of their use for human activities. The definition of good environmental status takes into account the existence of human activities at sea or on land that have an impact on the environment. As such, it is not a state unaffected by human activities, sometimes called "pristine". In defining good environmental status, certain contextual elements need to be taken into account. In addition to the existence of anthropogenic pressures, it is therefore necessary to consider their impacts on the environment, the long-term or short-term natural variability of ecosystems and their resilience, and global changes, in particular climate change. On the basis of the content elements of the Directive, France has chosen to define good environmental status as the long-term level of ambition for the environmental status of the marine environment, i.e. the acceptable level of impact of human activities on environmental status that does not affect the proper functioning of ecosystems. The methodology for defining good environmental status distinguishes between two bases: 1: the description of the Good Environmental Status at the level of descriptors and, where appropriate, at the level of criteria. 2: the characterization of the Good Environmental Status, which includes several elements: - the identification of "units of assessment" and relevant scales ; - definition of the method for identifying issue areas/characteristic areas ; - The development of indicators to judge the achievement of the GES of the marine environment, based on the above choices; - the definition of levels/thresholds/trends associated with these indicators and the setting of these levels/thresholds/trends; - the development of an intra-descriptor aggregation method. It should be noted that the proper functioning of an ecosystem is a scientific concept, based on an ecosystem approach, which can be qualified or even quantified, in some cases today, in other cases in the future, subject to further studies, research and data acquisition. This definition will have to be revised every 6 years on the basis of new knowledge and data and will have to take into account the evolution of anthropogenic pressures and global changes. The effects of climate change are being felt on the marine environment and its functioning: they will be taken into account in the revision of the definition of Good Environmental Status as part of the context.

MWE-EN-MS-MO: Good environmental status is the good functioning of marine ecosystems, their good health and the environmental sustainability of their use for human activities. The definition of good environmental status takes into account the existence of human activities at sea or on land that have an impact on the environment. As such, it is not a state unaffected by human activities, sometimes called "pristine". In defining good environmental status, certain contextual elements need to be taken into account. In addition to the existence of anthropogenic pressures, it is therefore necessary to consider their impacts on the environment, the long-term or short-term natural variability of ecosystems and their resilience, and global changes, in particular climate change. On the basis of the content elements of the Directive, France has chosen to define good environmental status as the long-term level of ambition for the environmental status of the marine environment, i.e. the acceptable level of impact of human activities on environmental status that does not affect the proper functioning of ecosystems. The methodology for defining good environmental status distinguishes between two bases: 1: the description of the Good Environmental Status at the level of descriptors and, where appropriate, at the level of criteria. 2: the characterization of the Good Environmental Status, which includes several elements: - the identification of "units of assessment" and relevant scales ; - definition of the method for identifying issue areas/characteristic areas ; - The development of indicators to judge the achievement of the GES of the marine environment, based on the above choices; - the definition of levels/thresholds/trends associated with these indicators and the setting of these levels/thresholds/trends; - the development of an intra-descriptor aggregation method. It should be noted that the proper functioning of an ecosystem is a scientific concept, based on an ecosystem approach, which can be qualified or even quantified, in some cases today, in other cases in the future, subject to further studies, research and data acquisition. This definition will have to be revised every 6 years on the basis of new knowledge and data and will have to take into account the evolution of anthropogenic pressures and global changes. The effects of climate change are being felt on the marine environment and its functioning: they will be taken into account in the revision of the definition of Good Environmental Status as part of the context.

The levels of contaminants present in fish and other seafood intended for human consumption shall not exceed the thresholds laid down in Community legislation or other applicable standards.

Good environmental status is achieved when: - the actual levels of contamination of fish and other seafood intended for human consumption by the chemical contaminants listed in Regulation 1881/2006 and the number of contaminants for which the regulatory maximum levels set by this Regulation have been exceeded are stable or decreasing; - the annual frequency of exceedance of the above-mentioned regulatory maximum levels does not exceed the level set in Annex 2 of the Order of 17/12/2012 on the definition of good environmental status of marine waters.

The indicators related to criterion 9.1 that are relevant for characterising good ecological status are defined as follows : Indicator 9.1.1: Actual levels of chemical contaminants that have been detected and the number of such contaminants for which regulatory maximum levels have been exceeded. The indicator is made up on the one hand of the concentration of chemical contaminants listed in Annex 2 of the Order of 17 December 2012 (p41) in the matrix identified in the same document, and on the other hand of the number of contaminants for which the regulatory maximum levels have been exceeded. The levels and trends characterising good ecological status for indicator 9.1.1 are as follows: - trends in the concentrations of chemical contaminants listed in the matrix identified on page 41 of the aforementioned Order of 17 December 2012 (p41) are stable or decreasing; - trends in the number of contaminants for which the regulatory maximum levels have been exceeded are stable or decreasing. Indicator 9.1.2: Frequency of exceedances of regulatory maximum levels. The indicator consists of the annual frequency of exceedance of the regulatory thresholds available in Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006 in the Marine Sub-Region.

The rules for aggregation at the level of the descriptor will be specified if necessary following additional studies, as provided for in Article 4 of the Order of 17 December 2012 on the definition of good environmental status of marine waters. These elements will be developed with a view to updating the definition of good environmental status by 2018.

The levels and trends characterising good environmental status for indicator 9.1.2, and the rules for aggregation at the level of the criteria will be specified following further studies, as provided for in Article 4 of the Order of 17 December 2012 on the definition of good environmental status of marine waters. These elements will be developed with a view to updating the definition of good environmental status by 2018.