Marine Strategy Part One: UK Initial Assessment and Good Environmental Status December 2012 © Crown copyright 2012 You may re-use this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/ or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or e-mail: [email protected] This consultation document has been published by Defra for HM Government and is also available on the Defra website at: http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/marine/msfd/ An initial assessment for British Gibraltar Territorial Waters is being prepared separately. PB13860 Contents Joint Ministerial Foreword ............................................................................................................ 4 Executive Summary ..................................................................................................................... 6 Section 1 – Context for the UK Marine Strategy .......................................................................... 9 1.1 – Introduction ................................................................................................................... 9 1.2 - Background to the MSFD ............................................................................................ 12 1.3 - The European and Regional context ........................................................................... 14 1.4 - What the Marine Strategy covers and how it was developed ...................................... 17 1.5 - Summary of the implications of the GES targets and indicators .................................. 25 Section 2 – UK Initial Assessment Cover Paper ........................................................................ 37 2.1 Introduction and approach ............................................................................................. 37 2.2 Analysis of the economic and social use of UK seas and the predominant pressures .. 42 2.3 Current and predicted status of UK seas ....................................................................... 56 2.4 Analysis of pressure descriptors and Impacts ............................................................... 78 2.5 Analysis of the costs of degradation .............................................................................. 98 Section 3 – GES characteristics and targets and indicators..................................................... 114 3.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 114 3.2 Biodiversity - Descriptor 1 (biodiversity), Descriptor 4 (food webs), Descriptor 6 (sea- floor integrity) .......................................................................................................... 114 3.3 Descriptor 2 – Non-indigenous species ....................................................................... 127 3.5 Descriptor 5 – Eutrophication....................................................................................... 132 3.6 Descriptor 7 – Permanent alteration of hydrographical conditions ............................... 135 3.7 Descriptor 8 – Concentrations of contaminants ........................................................... 137 3.8 Descriptor 9 – Contaminants in fish and other seafood ............................................... 140 3.9 Descriptor 10 – Marine litter ......................................................................................... 141 3.10 Descriptor 11 – Introduction of energy, including underwater noise .......................... 144 3 Joint Ministerial Foreword Our seas are an intrinsic part of our history, our way of life, and our economy, and people across the UK value them very highly. For our seas to continue to play this important role in our lives and livelihoods, a healthy marine environment is vital. The UK has one of the richest marine environments across Europe, home to a wide variety of marine species and habitats. We are only just beginning to understand the full extent of some of the services which our seas provide us with, such as their critical role in regulating our climate. Although we cannot see what goes on beneath their surface, our marine waters play a major role in all our lives. Over the last 100 years human activities in our waters have increased dramatically, both in their intensity and in the range of activities taking place. This has placed increasing pressures on the marine environment, including the impacts of fishing and pollution. We have long recognised the need to manage the impacts of the pressures caused by our activities and we have achieved some significant successes, particularly in controlling point sources of pollution and inputs of nutrients. However, we need to take more action particularly to reduce pressures on seafloor habitats and fish populations, which continue to be adversely affected by our activities, while allowing marine industries to thrive and develop. These issues were highlighted in recent reports on the state of the UK’s marine environment: Charting Progress (2005), Charting Progress 2 (2010), Scotland’s Marine Atlas (2011) and Northern Ireland State of the Seas Report (2011). The UK Government and Devolved Administrations have already accepted the findings of these assessments and we are committed to realising our vision of achieving clean, healthy, safe, productive and biologically diverse oceans and seas, which underpins the 2011 UK Marine Policy Statement. They are also recognised in Wales’ Sustainable Development for Welsh Seas (2011) and A Living Wales – a new framework for our environment, countryside and seas (2012) consultation documents. To realise our vision, we are already taking many measures to improve the state of our marine environment, as part of ensuring sustainable development. We are delivering the UK Marine and Coastal Access Act (2009), the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 and developing the proposed Northern Ireland Marine Bill, as well as seeking radical reform of the Common Fisheries Policy. We are also implementing EU legislation, such as the Water Framework Directive and the Birds and Habitats Directives, which are contributing to improving the state of the UK’s marine and coastal environment. However, we cannot achieve our goals for our marine environment in isolation. Our marine environment does not recognise national boundaries. Many of the most significant activities that impact on our seas, such as fisheries, are managed at a European or international level. The Marine Strategy Framework Directive, which requires all EU Member States to take measures to achieve Good Environmental Status in their seas by 2020, puts in place a framework to allow co-ordinated action across Europe to improve the marine environment. It gives us the wider tools we need to achieve clean, healthy, safe, productive and biologically diverse oceans and seas for the UK. The requirements of the Directive were transposed into national legislation through the Marine Strategy Regulations 2010 (covering England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) and the Marine Strategy Regulations 2011 (covering Gibraltar). 4 The UK Marine Strategy Part 1 is a major step in the implementation of this important Directive. The characteristic, targets and indicators for Good Environmental Status reflect the ambitious agenda that the UK Government and Devolved Administrations are together already pursuing on the marine environment. The Marine Strategy has been developed with help from stakeholders across the UK. We would like to thank everyone for their help so far and we look forward to continuing to work together to secure Good Environmental Status for our seas, both now and for the future. Richard Benyon Richard Lochhead Minister for Natural Environment Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Fisheries and the Environment HM Government Scotland John Griffiths Alex Attwood Minister for Environment and Minister of the Environment Sustainable Development Northern Ireland Wales 5 Executive Summary Section 1 – Context for the UK Marine Strategy 1.1 – Introduction This section sets out the marine policy context and briefly describes the requirements of the Directive and the purposes of this Marine Strategy. 1.2 – Background to the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) The overarching aim of the Directive is for Member States to put in place measures to achieve Good Environmental Status (GES) in their marine waters by 2020. Member States must develop Marine Strategies for their waters consisting of: an initial assessment of their marine waters; characteristics, targets and indicators of GES; monitoring programmes for measuring progress towards GES, and; programmes of measures to achieve or maintain GES. These requirements were transposed into national legislation through the Marine Strategy Regulations 2010 (covering England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) and the Marine Strategy Regulations 2011 (covering Gibraltar). This document forms the UK Marine Strategy Part One, and meets the Directive’s requirements for the first two stages of the implementation process outlined above. This sub-section provides a more detailed summary of the key requirements of the Directive, explaining all key stages in the implementation process. It also sets out the definition of GES provided in the Directive and the 11 Descriptors of GES. 1.3 – The European and Regional context A key