The European Commission has appointed ICES to head a scientific review of a number of Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) descriptors. Descriptor 3 on commercial fish, descriptor 4 on food webs, descriptor 6 on seafloor integrity, and descriptor 11 on noise will be reviewed by ICES scientists in collaboration with others from across Europe.
Dates were announced this week by the European Commission for open workshops to be held at ICES Secretariat in Copenhagen, Denmark (26-27 August and 2-5 September). These workshops will address a range of questions concerning the scientific challenges faced in implementing the MSFD with the resulting outcomes informing the reviews of the descriptors.
This central role in reviewing the underlying science of the MSFD, adds to the work that ICES has already contributed to the MSFD, namely leading the development and implementation of descriptor 3, partnering in various externally funded MSFD related projects, such as STAGES, and synthesizing approaches to data integration across indicators.
