The reporting requirements of the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive 2008/56/EC are linked to specific parts of marine waters within each marine region or subregion. Good Environmental Status (GES) must always be determined at a (sub)regional scale (Art. 3(5)), however assessments of whether GES has been achieved can be at a finer scale, in line with the scales of assessment stipulated by MSFD Commission Decision 2017/848/EU. For this purpose, Member States are required to determine Marine Reporting Units (MRUs) defining the areas used for notifying to the Commission the information needed for each MSFD report. Reports include the assessment of status and the determination of GES which, in accordance with Commission Decision 2017/848/EU needs to incorporate the proportion of the area over which the threshold value that defines GES must be achieved. Malta is revising the assessment areas/MRUs to reflect the requirements of Commission Decision 2017/484/EU.

The reporting requirements of the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive 2008/56/EC are linked to specific parts of marine waters within each marine region or subregion. Good Environmental Status (GES) must always be determined at a (sub)regional scale (Art. 3(5)), however assessments of whether GES has been achieved can be at a finer scale, in line with the scales of assessment stipulated by MSFD Commission Decision 2017/848/EU. For this purpose, Member States are required to determine Marine Reporting Units (MRUs) defining the areas used for notifying to the Commission the information needed for each MSFD report. Reports include the assessment of status and the determination of GES which, in accordance with Commission Decision 2017/848/EU needs to incorporate the proportion of the area over which the threshold value that defines GES must be achieved. Malta is revising the assessment areas/MRUs to reflect the requirements of Commission Decision 2017/484/EU.

The reporting requirements of the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive 2008/56/EC are linked to specific parts of marine waters within each marine region or subregion. Good Environmental Status (GES) must always be determined at a (sub)regional scale (Art. 3(5)), however assessments of whether GES has been achieved can be at a finer scale, in line with the scales of assessment stipulated by MSFD Commission Decision 2017/848/EU. For this purpose, Member States are required to determine Marine Reporting Units (MRUs) defining the areas used for notifying to the Commission the information needed for each MSFD report. Reports include the assessment of status and the determination of GES which, in accordance with Commission Decision 2017/848/EU needs to incorporate the proportion of the area over which the threshold value that defines GES must be achieved. Malta is revising the assessment areas/MRUs to reflect the requirements of Commission Decision 2017/484/EU.

The reporting requirements of the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive 2008/56/EC are linked to specific parts of marine waters within each marine region or subregion. Good Environmental Status (GES) must always be determined at a (sub)regional scale (Art. 3(5)), however assessments of whether GES has been achieved can be at a finer scale, in line with the scales of assessment stipulated by MSFD Commission Decision 2017/848/EU. For this purpose, Member States are required to determine Marine Reporting Units (MRUs) defining the areas used for notifying to the Commission the information needed for each MSFD report. Reports include the assessment of status and the determination of GES which, in accordance with Commission Decision 2017/848/EU needs to incorporate the proportion of the area over which the threshold value that defines GES must be achieved. Malta is revising the assessment areas/MRUs prior to the upcoming reporting in October 2018 to reflect the requirements of Commission Decision 2017/484/EU.

The identification of assessment areas for the MSFD Initial Assessment ensured comprehensive representation of the characteristics listed in Annex III of the Directive, including the predominant habitat types and functional groups identified by the Commission Staff Working Paper [SEC(2011)1255 final], as well as adequate coverage of the identified pressures on such characteristics. The nature of the characteristic for which the assessment area was defined, the relevance of such area to MSFD objectives and the current data scenario were also determinant factors in delineating assessment areas. The extent of these assessment areas were to the extent possible delineated with existing boundaries such as the boundaries of the coastal water bodies as identified in Malta’s Water Catchment Management Plan. In some cases, these defined boundaries were used as assessment areas where deemed relevant. In view of the current data scenario, the proposed GES and targets are generally applicable at the same scale on the assessment areas defined for the purpose of Article 8, with the exception of a few cases specified in table provided through this reporting sheet.

The identification of assessment areas for the MSFD Initial Assessment ensured comprehensive representation of the characteristics listed in Annex III of the Directive, including the predominant habitat types and functional groups identified by the Commission Staff Working Paper [SEC(2011)1255 final], as well as adequate coverage of the identified pressures on such characteristics. The nature of the characteristic for which the assessment area was defined, the relevance of such area to MSFD objectives and the current data scenario were also determinant factors in delineating assessment areas. The extent of these assessment areas were to the extent possible delineated with existing boundaries such as the boundaries of the coastal water bodies as identified in Malta’s Water Catchment Management Plan. In some cases, these defined boundaries were used as assessment areas where deemed relevant. In view of the current data scenario, the proposed GES and targets are generally applicable at the same scale on the assessment areas defined for the purpose of Article 8, with the exception of a few cases specified in table provided through this reporting sheet.

The identification of assessment areas for the MSFD Initial Assessment ensured comprehensive representation of the characteristics listed in Annex III of the Directive, including the predominant habitat types and functional groups identified by the Commission Staff Working Paper [SEC(2011)1255 final], as well as adequate coverage of the identified pressures on such characteristics. The nature of the characteristic for which the assessment area was defined, the relevance of such area to MSFD objectives and the current data scenario were also determinant factors in delineating assessment areas. The extent of these assessment areas were to the extent possible delineated with existing boundaries such as the boundaries of the coastal water bodies as identified in Malta’s Water Catchment Management Plan. In some cases, these defined boundaries were used as assessment areas where deemed relevant. In view of the current data scenario, the proposed GES and targets are generally applicable at the same scale on the assessment areas defined for the purpose of Article 8, with the exception of a few cases specified in table provided through this reporting sheet.