Many of the threats facing Europe’s seas require cooperation between member states to tackle them effectively. The Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) aims to achieve Good Environmental Status in Europe’s seas by 2020.

What is Good Environmental Status

Good Environmental Status (GES) involves protecting the marine environment, preventing its deterioration and restoring it where practical, while using marine resources sustainably.  This fits well with the UK vision of ‘clean, healthy, safe, productive and biologically diverse oceans and seas’.

 The Directive sets out 11 high-level Descriptors of Good Environmental Status  (PDF 12KB) which cover all the key aspects of the marine ecosystem and all the main human pressures on them. The European Commission has also produced a Decision document (Com Decision 2010/477/EU) which provides more detailed criteria and indicators of Good Environmental Status which Member States must use when implementing the Directive.

What does the Directive require?

The Directive came into force on 15 July 2008, and was transposed into UK law via the Marine Strategy Regulations 2010.

Key requirements of the Directive are:

1. An assessment of the current state of UK seas by July 2012
2. A set of detailed characteristics of Good Environmental Status means for UK waters, and associated targets and indicators by July 2012
3. Establishment of a monitoring programme to measure progress toward Good Environmental Status by July 2014
4. Establishment of a programme of measures for achieving Good Environmental Status by 2016

For the UK, the Directive is part of a package of policies, united by our vision for ‘clean, healthy, safe, productive and biologically diverse oceans and seas’.  The Directive’s aims are consistent with this vision and current policies, such as the implementation of the Marine and Coastal Access Act, and the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy will play a major role in helping us achieve GES.

Consultation

The UK Government and Devolved Administrations launched a public consultation on 27 March 2012 on the following aspects for the implementation of the MSFD:

• A draft initial assessment of the state of the UK’s seas
• Proposals for characteristics of Good Environmental Status for the UK’s seas
• Proposals for more detailed targets and indicators of Good Environmental Status, through which we will measure progress towards achieving Good Environmental Status

The consultation documents and information on how to respond can be found at: www.defra.gov.uk/consult/2012/03/27/marine-strategy-framework-1203/

Additional Information

You can find out more about the Directive and the proposals in the consultation in the following documentation:

• Question & Answer (PDF)
• Factsheet 1: Links between the Marine Strategy Framework and the Water Framework Directives (PDF)
• Factsheet 2: Links between the Marine Strategy Framework Directive and other legislation (PDF)
• Factsheet 3: What the Marine Strategy Framework Directive means for marine industries (PDF)
• Factsheet 4: What the Marine Strategy Framework Directive means for the fishing industry (PDF)
• Factsheet 5: What the Marine Strategy Framework Directive means for conservation (PDF)

The consultation draws on the following reports:

• Designing Business as Usual Projections of the Marine Environment to Inform the UK Implementation of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive- ABPmer, 2012
• Proposed UK targets for achieving GES and cost-benefit analysis for the MSFD, Cefas 2012

If you have further questions, please contact Defra at

• MSFDTeam@defra.gsi.gov.uk

Other publications

• Economic and social assessment for the Marine Strategy Framework Directive
• An Introduction to Socio-economic Assessment Within a Marine Strategy Framework (PDF 720 KB)
• Public consultation on the transposition of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive in 2009. A summary of responses to that consultation was published on 22 June 2010, and the associated impact assessment (PDF 400KB) is also available .