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Marine mammals and good environmental status: science, policy and society; challenges and opportunities

  • TRENDS IN AQUATIC ECOLOGY
  • Review Paper
  • Published:
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Abstract

The Marine Strategy Framework Directive has become the key instrument for marine conservation in European seas. We review its implementation, focusing on cetacean biodiversity, using the examples of Spain and the Regional Seas Convention, OSPAR. The MSFD has been widely criticised for legal vagueness, lack of coordination, uncertainty about funding, and poor governance; its future role within EU Integrated Maritime Policy remains unclear. Nevertheless, the first stages of the process have run broadly to schedule: current status, environmental objectives and indicators have been described and the design of monitoring programmes is in progress, drawing on experience with other environmental legislation. The MSFD is now entering its critical phase, with lack of funding for monitoring, limited scope for management interventions, and uncertainty about how conservation objectives will be reconciled with the needs of other marine and maritime sectors, being among the main concerns. Clarity in governance, about the roles of the EU, Member States, Regional Seas Conventions and stakeholders, is needed to ensure success. However, even if (as seems likely) good environmental status cannot be achieved by 2020, significant steps will have been taken to place environmental sustainability centre-stage in the development of Integrated Maritime Policy for EU seas.

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Notes

  1. “Specific attributes of each GES criterion that can either be qualitatively described or quantitatively assessed” (Andersen et al., 2013).

  2. http://www.fc.ul.pt/sites/default/files/fcul/investigacao/DQEM_Continente.pdf.

  3. http://www.artdata.slu.se/filer/gybs/notes_guidelines_report_art17_final.pdf.

  4. https://circabc.europa.eu/sd/a/5c427756-166d-4cc8-a654-fca8bfae3968/Art17%20-%20Reporting-Formats%20-%20final.pdf.

  5. http://www.circe.biz/files/Criterios%20orientadores%20CNEA.pdf.

  6. See http://ec.europa.eu/maritimeaffairs/policy/maritime_spatial_planning/index_en.htm.

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Acknowledgments

We wish to thank the Spanish cetacean experts whose knowledge and opinions have been invaluable during all steps of implementation of the MSFD for this functional group in Spain and to all the colleagues at the IEO who have given shape to the MSFD process in Spain. We wish also to thank three anonymous referees for their helpful comments. GJP thanks the University of Aveiro and Caixa Geral de Depósitos (Portugal) for financial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro Oceanográfico de Vigo, Instituto Español de Oceanografía, Subida a Radio Faro, 50, 36390, Vigo, Spain

    Maria Begoña Santos

  2. CESAM & Departamento de Biologia, Universidade de Aveiro, 3810-193, Aveiro, Portugal

    Graham John Pierce

  3. Oceanlab, University of Aberdeen, Main Street, Newburgh, Aberdeenshire, AB41 6AA, UK

    Graham John Pierce

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  1. Maria Begoña Santos
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Correspondence to Maria Begoña Santos.

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Santos, M.B., Pierce, G.J. Marine mammals and good environmental status: science, policy and society; challenges and opportunities. Hydrobiologia 750, 13–41 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-014-2164-2

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