Extent of Physical Disturbance to Benthic Habitats: Fishing mobile gears

Overall GES was not met for the extent of physical disturbance to benthic habitats by fisheries with mobile bottom-contacting gears indicator for both the Greater North Sea and Celtic Seas sub-regions.

In the Greater North Sea sub-region, the majority of broad scale habitats did not achieve GES in all component assessment units. However, in the Celtic Seas and Celtic Seas (seabed and subsoil only) sub-regions, the majority of broad scale habitats achieved GES across all assessment units.

In the Greater North Sea sub-region, GES was achieved by half of Threatened and/or Declining (T&D) habitats in the Southern North Sea and by the majority of T&D habitats in the Central North Sea and Channel. In the Celtic Seas sub-region, although GES was achieved by half of T&D habitats in the Northern Celtic Sea, the majority of T&D habitats in the Southern Celtic Sea did not achieve GES.

Background

This analysis used outputs from the most recent assessment of the OSPAR Indicator “Extent of Physical Disturbance to Benthic Habitats: Fisheries with mobile bottom-contacting gears” (BH3a) to assess Good Environmental Status (GES) for reporting against Part 1 of the UK Marine Strategy (UKMS) in 2024. To assess GES for broad scale habitats, a dual value threshold was used to account for varying sensitivities of biotopes within broad habitat definitions: no greater than 15% of habitat area in High disturbance alone, and no greater than 25% of habitat area in High and Moderate disturbance collectively. To assess GES in OSPAR Threatened and/or Declining (T&D) habitats (those considered to need priority protection), a more restrictive 5% threshold was applied to the proportion of habitat area in High and Moderate disturbance collectively. Threshold values were agreed through expert consultation, with aims of maximising interoperability with wider policy drivers and applied to the total area of habitats within assessment units, within UKMS sub-regions.

Broad Scale Habitat Thresholds

Broad scale habitats comprise several habitat types that have varying levels of sensitivity to physical abrasion pressures from human activities, based on their ability to withstand and recover from impacts. Therefore, a dual extent threshold was designed to account for varying degrees of disturbance possible within broad scale habitats, based on underlying sensitivity. A higher tolerance extent threshold (25%) was applied to the area of broad scale habitats in Moderate and High disturbance groups collectively, and a stricter threshold value (15%) was applied to the area in High disturbance alone, as this disturbance group only occurred where the underlying sensitivity was in the two highest sensitivity categories used in the BH3 methodology (please see the methodology section of this report for further details). The BH3 disturbance groups agreed in the QSR 2023 (Zero, Low, Moderate, and High) were selected to represent the pressure and sensitivity elements of disturbance (Matear and others, 2023).

The use of thresholds that reflected underlying sensitivity within broad scale habitats both maximised detail of resolution in assessments, whilst simultaneously aligning with wider marine policy at an international scale. In 2023, the EU agreed that for a broad scale habitat to achieve GES, no more than 25% of the habitat should be adversely affected by human pressures under Descriptor 6 in the EU MSFD “Seabed Integrity” (European Commission, 2023; Task Group Seabed). In addition, the 25% threshold aligned with the methodology implemented by the UK in 2019 Article 17 assessments, under the EU Habitats Directive, to determine “Unfavourable-Bad” condition for habitats (JNCC, 2019). The 15% threshold was derived from the initial threshold trialled in 2018 reporting against UKMS and enabled a stricter threshold to be applied to the highest levels of disturbance in the most sensitive species and habitats.

OSPAR Threatened and Declining Habitat Thresholds

OSPAR Threatened and/or Declining (T&D) Habitats need priority protection, therefore, a more restrictive threshold of no more than 5% of habitat area in Moderate and High disturbance was applied. The 5% extent threshold corresponded with the methodology implemented by the UK in 2019 Article 17 reporting (EU Habitats Directive), where no greater than 5% of habitat area could be in unfavourable conditions for the habitat to be assessed as in a favourable condition overall (JNCC, 2019).

Assessment method

Input Data Overview

Estimates of physical disturbance from bottom-contact fisheries, between 2016 and 2020, within UKMS sub-regions were obtained from the OSPAR Quality Status Report 2023 (QSR 2023) (Matear and others, 2023). Data were available and analysed at the scale of OSPAR benthic assessment units (hereafter referred to as assessment units). Disturbance was categorised from 0-9, at the resolution of habitat polygons within ICES c-squares (0.05 x 0.05-degree grids). Assessments considered the most detailed underlying species and habitat information available in the EUNIS 2007 classification (resolution of available sensitivity assessments), and the intensity of physical abrasion pressures from bottom-contact fisheries.

EUNIS 2007 habitats were translated in the QSR to EU MSFD Benthic Broad Habitat Types (BBHT) to facilitate reporting against national policy commitments. To report against the UKMS, BBHTs from the EU MSFD classification (hereafter referred to as ‘broad scale habitats’) were used for GES assessments to standardise UKMS results and ensure interoperability with the OSPAR BH3 QSR 2023 assessment. To demonstrate the variety of EUNIS codes and, therefore, variety of sensitivity values that can occur within a single broad scale habitat, an example of EUNIS codes associated with Circalittoral mixed sediment across UKMS sub-regions is provided in Table 1.

Table 1: Unique EUNIS 2007 codes present within UKMS sub-regions that translated to the MSFD Broad Benthic Habitat Type “Circalittoral mixed sediment” and unique surface and subsurface sensitivity categories observed within the habitat (where category 5 is the highest sensitivity).

Broad Scale Habitat	EUNIS Codes	Surface Sensitivity Categories	Subsurface Sensitivity Categories
Circalittoral mixed sediment	A5.4, A5.44, A5.443, A5.445, A5, A5.42, A5.444, A5.441, A5.4411, A5.442	2, 3, 4, 5	3, 4, 5

In the QSR 2023, OSPAR T&D habitats were assessed separately using the OSPAR Habitats in the North-East Atlantic Ocean – 2020 Polygons layer (OSPAR, 2020), available to download from the European Marine Observation and Data Network product catalogue [https://emodnet.ec.europa.eu/geonetwork/srv/eng/catalog.search#/search]. These data were considered the most accurate representation of the distribution of OSPAR T&D habitats at the time of assessment.

QSR 2023 BH3a data were available for the following assessment units within UKMS sub-regions (Figure 1):

UKMS sub-region Greater North Sea: Central North Sea, Southern North Sea, and Channel assessment units

UKMS sub-region Celtic Seas: Northern Celtic Sea, Southern Celtic Sea, and North-Iberian Atlantic assessment units

UKMS sub-region Celtic Seas (seabed and subsoil only): Atlantic Projection assessment unit

Small proportions of the Celtic Seas and Celtic Seas (seabed and subsoil only) sub-regions were beyond the spatial extent of the assessment unit boundaries used in QSR; BH3a habitat and sensitivity data were not available in these areas (Figure 1).

Map of the UK and surrounding seas within the UK's EEZ.

Figure 1: Assessment unit boundaries within UK Marine Strategy sub-regions. Labels indicate spatial location of assessment units with an available BH3a assessment. The spatial extent of the BH3 assessment in the OSPAR QSR 2023 did not cover the entire area of UK Marine Strategy sub-regions; areas where no BH3a assessment was available are hashed out.

Assessment of GES

Analyses were conducted in ESRI ArcGIS v10.1, QGIS v3.16.5, and R statistical software (v3.6.1); spatial analysis in R was carried out using the ‘sf’ (Pebesma, 2018) and ‘tidyverse’ packages (Wickham and others, 2019). BH3a disturbance estimates were spatially intersected with the UKMS sub-regional boundaries. Disturbance categories, based on aggregated fishing pressure data between 2016 to 2020, were then separated into the four disturbance groups defined in the OSPAR QSR 2023: ‘Zero’ = no reported VMS data or 0 SAR, ‘Low’ = disturbance categories 1 to 4, ‘Moderate’ = disturbance categories 5 to 7, and ‘High’ = disturbance categories 8 and 9 (Table 2).

Disturbance groups were selected in the QSR to represent the pressure and sensitivity elements of the physical disturbance values (Matear and others, 2023). Both pressure and sensitivity were categorised prior to calculating disturbance in the QSR. In both instances, category 5 represented the highest intensity of physical abrasion pressure and the highest level of sensitivity to physical abrasion pressure. Therefore, the disturbance groups enabled GES thresholds to be set according to the greatest levels of disturbance in the most sensitive areas; High disturbance only occurred in areas of sensitivity categories 4 or 5 and Moderate disturbance only occurred in areas of sensitivity category 3 or greater (Table 2). For further details on how pressure and sensitivity were assessed and categorised in the QSR please see Matear and others (2023).

Table 2: Disturbance matrix with summary groups; ‘Low’ (1-4), ‘Moderate’ (5-7), and ‘High’ (8-9). Note ‘Null / 0*’ pressure = No reported VMS data or 0 SAR value reported by ICES for vessels >12 m only

Disturbance Matrix		Sensitivity
Disturbance Matrix		1	2	3	4	5
Pressure	Null / 0	0	0	0	0	0
	1	1	2	3	4	6
	2	1	2	4	6	7
	3	1	3	5	7	9
	4	1	4	6	8	9
	5	2	4	7	9	9

GES Assessments in Broad Scale Habitats

The proportion of the total area of each broad scale habitat, within assessment units, in each disturbance group was calculated and assessed against the following dual or two parts threshold:

No greater than 15% of broad scale habitat area in High disturbance (categories 8 and 9) alone and;

No greater than 25% of broad scale habitat area in High and Moderate disturbance (categories 5-9) collectively.

For broad scale habitats to achieve GES, the proportion of the total habitat area, within assessment units would have to meet both the 15% and the 25% threshold.

GES Assessment in Threatened and Declining Habitats

The proportion of the total area of each OSPAR T&D habitat, in each assessment unit, in disturbance categories 5-9 (equivalent to High and Moderate disturbance groups combined) was calculated and assessed against the following threshold:

No greater than 5% of OSPAR T&D habitat area in High and Moderate disturbance groups (disturbance categories 5-9).

The full methodology of the BH3a indicator and the results from the QSR 2023 can be found here: https://oap.ospar.org/en/ospar-assessments/quality-status-reports/qsr-2023/indicator-assessments/phys-dist-habs-fisheries/

Results

Broad Scale Habitats

Greater North Sea

In the Greater North Sea sub-region, less than half of broad scale habitats present in each assessment unit (Central North Sea, Southern North Sea, and Channel) achieved the dual threshold (Table 3). The percentage of broad scale habitats present in each assessment unit to achieve the dual threshold ranged from 15% of habitats in the Channel, to 47% of habitats in the Southern North Sea. Therefore, the majority of broad scale habitats did not achieve GES within the Greater North Sea sub-region.

Celtic Seas

In the Celtic Seas sub-region, over half of broad scale habitats present in each assessment unit (Northern Celtic Sea, Southern Celtic Sea, and North-Iberian Atlantic) achieved the dual threshold (Table 3). The percentage of broad scale habitats present in each assessment unit to achieve the dual threshold ranged from 68% in the Southern Celtic Sea to 100% in the North-Iberian Atlantic. Therefore, the majority of broad scale habitats achieved GES in the Celtic Seas sub-region.

Celtic Seas (seabed and subsoil only)

The Atlantic Projection was the only assessment unit with an available BH3a assessment in the Celtic Seas (seabed and subsoil only) sub-region. All broad scale habitats present within the Atlantic Projection achieved the dual threshold for GES (Table 3).

Table 3: Percentage of broad scale habitats in each assessment unit to achieve the dual threshold: no greater than 15% of habitat area in High disturbance (categories 8 and 9) alone and no greater than 25% of habitat area in High and Moderate disturbance (categories 5-9). Note that areas of no habitat data and no broad scale habitat translation were not included as these did not represent defined broad scale habitats.

UK Marine Strategy Sub-region	Assessment Unit	Total Number of Broad Scale Habitats	Total Number of Habitats to Achieve Dual Threshold	Percentage of Broad Scale Habitats to Achieve Dual Threshold
Greater North Sea	Central North Sea	15	6	40%
	Southern North Sea	15	7	47%
	Channel	15	2	13%
Celtic Seas	Northern Celtic Sea	20	14	70%
	Southern Celtic Sea	19	13	68%
	North-Iberian Atlantic	2	2	100%
Celtic Seas (seabed and subsoil only)	Atlantic Projection	8	8	100%

All broad scale habitats achieved the dual threshold in at least one assessment unit that they occurred in (Table 4 and Figure 2). However, of the 20 broad scale habitats assessed, only six achieved the dual threshold across all assessment units they occurred in: Infralittoral coarse sediment, Offshore circalittoral coarse sediment, Abyssal, Lower bathyal rock and biogenic reef, Lower bathyal sediment, Upper bathyal rock and biogenic reef. The remaining 14 broad scale habitats did not achieve the dual threshold in at least one assessment unit in which they occurred.

Table 4: Threshold assessment for broad scale habitats within assessment units where: Achieved = no greater than 15% of habitat area in High disturbance (categories 8 and 9) alone and no greater than 25% of habitat area in disturbance High and Moderate disturbance (categories 5-9); Not achieved = more than 15% of habitat area in disturbance High disturbance (categories 8 and 9) alone and / or more than 25% of habitat area in High and Moderate disturbance (categories 5-9); Not present = the habitat was not observed in the assessment unit.

Broad Scale Habitat	Central North Sea	Southern North Sea	Channel	Northern Celtic Sea	Southern Celtic Sea	North-Iberian Atlantic	Atlantic Projection
Infralittoral rock and biogenic reef	Achieved	Not achieved	Not achieved	Achieved	Achieved	Not present	Not present
Infralittoral coarse sediment	Achieved	Achieved	Achieved	Achieved	Achieved	Not present	Not present
Infralittoral mixed sediment	Not achieved	Not achieved	Not achieved	Not achieved	Achieved	Not present	Not present
Infralittoral sand	Achieved	Not achieved	Not achieved	Achieved	Achieved	Not present	Not present
Infralittoral mud	Achieved	Achieved	Not achieved	Achieved	Achieved	Not present	Not present
Circalittoral rock and biogenic reef	Not achieved	Achieved	Not achieved	Achieved	Achieved	Not present	Not present
Circalittoral coarse sediment	Not achieved	Achieved	Not achieved	Achieved	Achieved	Not present	Not present
Circalittoral mixed sediment	Not achieved	Achieved	Not achieved	Not achieved	Not achieved	Not present	Not present
Circalittoral sand	Achieved	Not achieved	Not achieved	Achieved	Achieved	Not present	Not present
Circalittoral mud	Not achieved	Achieved	Not achieved	Not achieved	Achieved	Not present	Not present
Offshore circalittoral rock and biogenic reef	Not achieved	Not achieved	Not achieved	Achieved	Not achieved	Not present	Achieved
Offshore circalittoral coarse sediment	Achieved	Achieved	Achieved	Achieved	Achieved	Not present	Not present
Offshore circalittoral mixed sediment	Not achieved	Not achieved	Not achieved	Achieved	Not achieved	Not present	Not present
Offshore circalittoral sand	Not achieved	Not achieved	Not achieved	Not achieved	Not achieved	Not present	Achieved
Offshore circalittoral mud	Not achieved	Not achieved	Not achieved	Not achieved	Not achieved	Not present	Achieved
Upper bathyal rock and biogenic reef	Not present	Not present	Not present	Achieved	Achieved	Not present	Achieved
Upper bathyal sediment	Not present	Not present	Not present	Not achieved	Not achieved	Not present	Achieved
Lower bathyal rock and biogenic reef	Not present	Not present	Not present	Achieved	Not present	Not present	Achieved
Lower bathyal sediment	Not present	Not present	Not present	Achieved	Achieved	Achieved	Achieved
Abyssal	Not present	Not present	Not present	Achieved	Achieved	Achieved	Achieved

The effect of using the dual threshold to apply a more restrictive threshold for the highest levels of disturbance was observed in Offshore circalittoral mixed sediment in the Channel and Southern Celtic Sea (Figure 2). In these assessment units, over 15% of the total area of Offshore circalittoral mixed sediment was in High disturbance alone, despite less than 25% of the habitat area being in High and Moderate disturbance collectively; therefore, the habitat did not achieve the dual threshold. Nevertheless, these were the only observed examples the threshold not being achieved due to the 15% threshold alone and in all other instances where the dual threshold was not achieved, more than 25% of habitat area was in High and Moderate disturbance collectively. Furthermore, particularly large proportions (over 50%) of habitat area subject to High and Moderate disturbance collectively were observed in habitats such as Offshore Circalittoral sand and Offshore circalittoral mud across multiple assessment units.

Series of stacked bar graphs.

Figure 2: The percentage of total broad scale habitat area, within assessment units, within UKMS sub-regions, predicted to be subject to the following disturbance groups: High = disturbance categories 8 and 9; and Moderate = disturbance categories 5-7.

OSPAR Threatened and/or Declining Habitats

GES assessments were conducted in all assessment units where OSPAR Threatened and/or Declining (T&D) habitats were observed. In the Greater North Sea sub-region, T&D habitats were present in all three assessment units: Central North Sea, Southern North Sea and the Cannel. In the Celtic seas sub-region, T&D habitats were present in two assessment units: Northern Celtic Sea and Southern Celtic Sea. No T&D habitats were observed in the North-Iberian Atlantic or the Atlantic Projection.

Greater North Sea

In the Greater North Sea sub-region, the proportion of OSPAR T&D habitats to achieve the 5% threshold varied among assessment units (Table 5). In the Southern North Sea, half of T&D habitats present in the assessment unit achieved GES. However, in the Central North Sea and the Channel, the majority of habitats achieved GES (57% and 60%, respectively).

Celtic Seas

In the Celtic Seas sub-region, the proportion of OSPAR T&D habitats to achieve the 5% threshold also varied among assessment units (Table 5). In the Northern Celtic Sea, half of T&D habitats present in the assessment unit achieved GES. However, in the Southern Celtic Sea GES was achieved by 43% of T&D habitats therefore, the majority of T&D habitats did not achieved GES in this assessment unit.

Table 5: Percentage of Threatened and/or Declining habitats in each assessment unit to achieve the threshold: no greater than 5% of habitat area in High and Moderate disturbance (categories 5-9).

UKMS Sub-region	Assessment Unit	Total Number of T&D Habitats	Total Number of T&D Habitats to Achieve Threshold	Percentage of T&D Habitats to Achieve Threshold
Greater North Sea	Central North Sea	7	4	57%
	Southern North Sea	4	2	50%
	Channel	5	3	60%
Celtic Seas	Northern Celtic Sea	10	5	50%
Celtic Seas	Southern Celtic Sea	7	3	43%

Of the 10 OSPAR T&D habitats that were observed across UKMS sub-regions, Modiolus modiolus (horse mussel) beds were the only habitat to achieved GES across all assessment units the habitat occurred in (Table 6 and Figure 3). Additionally, four habitats did not achieve GES in any assessment units they occurred in (Sea-pen and burrowing megafauna communities, Coral gardens, Lophelia pertusa reefs, and Seamounts). Furthermore, large proportions of habitat area predicted to be in High and Moderate disturbance collectively were observed in T&D habitats, particularly in the Southern Celtic Sea where over 99% of Sea-pen and burrowing megafauna communities and 100% of Lophelia pertusa reefs were in High and Moderate disturbance (Figure 3).

However, the proportion of habitat area predicted to be in High and Moderate disturbance from bottom-contact fisheries (Figure 3), should be considered in the context of the spatial resolution of the fishing pressure data available at the time of the BH3a assessment in the QSR. Pressure data were available at the resolution of ICES 0.05° x 0.05° c-squares (equating to an area of approximately 15 km² at 60°N latitude) and pressure was assumed to be homogeneous in distribution within a c-square (ICES, 2021; Matear and others, 2023). Therefore, in some instances fishing activity may have occurred adjacent to the assessed habitat within the same c-square. For OSPAR T&D habitats, this consideration is particularly relevant for habitats that typically occur in shallow / intertidal areas (e.g., Littoral chalk communities, Intertidal mudflats and Intertidal Mytilus edulis beds on mixed and sandy sediments).

Table 6: Threshold assessment for OSPAR Threatened and / or Declining Habitats within assessment units where: Achieved = no greater than 5% of habitat area in High and Moderate disturbance (categories 5-9) alone; Not achieved = more than 5% of habitat area in disturbance High and Moderate disturbance (categories 5-9); Not present = the habitat was not observed in the assessment unit.

OSPAR T&D Habitat	Central North Sea	Southern North Sea	Channel	Northern Celtic Sea	Southern Celtic Sea
Littoral chalk communities	Achieved	Achieved	Not Achieved	Achieved	Achieved
Intertidal mudflats	Achieved	Not Achieved	Achieved	Achieved	Achieved
Intertidal Mytilus edulis beds on mixed and sandy sediments	Achieved	Achieved	Not Achieved	Achieved	Achieved
Modiolus modiolus horse mussel beds	Achieved	Not present	Not present	Achieved	Not present
Maerl beds	Not Achieved	Not present	Achieved	Not Achieved	Not Achieved
Sabellaria spinulosa reefs	Not Achieved	Not Achieved	Achieved	Achieved	Not Achieved
Sea-pen and burrowing megafauna communities	Not Achieved	Not present	Not present	Not Achieved	Not Achieved
Coral gardens	Not present	Not present	Not present	Not Achieved	Not present
Lophelia pertusa reefs	Not present	Not present	Not present	Not Achieved	Not Achieved
Seamounts	Not present	Not present	Not present	Not Achieved	Not present

Series of stacked bar graphs.

Figure 3: Percentage of the total area of OSPAR Threatened and/or Declining Habitats predicted to be subject to High and Moderate disturbance (categories 5-9). Percentages were assessed against the threshold of ≤5% of area in High and Moderate disturbance (categories 5-9).

Conclusions

The proportion of broad scale habitats to achieve the dual value threshold varied among assessment units. In the Greater North Sea sub-region, the majority of broad scale habitats did not achieve GES in all component assessment units. In contrast, in the Celtic Seas and Celtic Seas (seabed and subsoil only) the majority of broad scale habitats achieved GES across all assessment units. Examples of where the dual value threshold triggered a failure to meet GES, due to the stricter 15% threshold alone, included Offshore circalittoral mixed sediment in the Channel and Southern Celtic Sea. This demonstrated the ability of the dual value threshold to capture the highest levels of disturbance in the most sensitive areas of broad scale habitats when determining GES. In all other instances where the dual threshold was not achieved, more than 25% of habitat area had High and Moderate disturbance collectively, with large proportions Offshore circalittoral sand and Offshore circalittoral mud habitats in High and Moderate disturbance.

The proportion of Threatened and/or Declining (T&D) habitats to achieve the stricter 5% threshold also varied among assessment units. In contrast to broad scale habitats, in the Greater North Sea sub-region, GES was achieved by half of T&D habitats in the Southern North Sea, and by the majority of T&D habitats in the Central North Sea and the Channel. However, in the Celtic seas sub-region, although GES was achieved by half of T&D habitats in the Northern Celtic Sea, the majority of T&D habitats in the Southern Celtic Sea did not achieve GES. Furthermore, particularly large proportions of T&D habitat area predicted to be in High and Moderate disturbance collectively were observed in the Southern Celtic Sea, where over 99% of Sea-pen and burrowing megafauna communities and 100% of Lophelia pertusa reefs were in these disturbance groups.

Knowledge gaps

The following recommendations will help to refine the thresholds as well as provide an indication of steps that could be taken to achieve GES:

Improved fishing data

Due to fisheries data restrictions, the present assessment was calculated at the resolution of ICES 0.05° x 0.05° c-squares (equating to an area of approximately 15 km2 at 60°N latitude), in which fishing pressure was assumed to homogenous in distribution (ICES, 2021). However, fishing may have been confined to parts of the c-square, instead of the whole area. Improving the accuracy of disturbance within the c-squares will help to reduce the level of disturbance in some areas and allow a targeted approach to fisheries management.

Furthermore, VMS data were only available from vessels over 12 m in length. Addressing key knowledge gaps associated with a paucity of data from vessels less than 12 m, would greatly improve the accuracy of assessments, as large proportions of UK fishing fleets are currently not accounted for in assessments. Improved access to higher-resolution fishing data would further understanding of where GES is achieved and facilitate the delivery of evidence-based management measures.

Improved monitoring

The use of the dual value threshold enabled detailed assessments of GES in broad scale habitats that accounted for the higher sensitivities within habitat types. In addition to improved accuracy, this approach ensured that assessments used standardised habitat classifications (broad scale habitats), facilitating interoperability with wider assessments, such as the OSPAR QSR 2023. The accuracy of outputs was influenced by the resolution of habitat and sensitivity data. Therefore, future assessments would benefit from improved habitat maps (increased in-situ data) to understand spatial relationships between pressure and sensitive habitats to improve the accuracy of GES determination.

Next Steps: Fisheries Management Plans

UK Fisheries Management Plans (FMPs), as required under the Fisheries Act 2020, are currently being developed and agreed across Devolved Administrations. Currently, there are two types of plans under development, either a fishery-level or a stock-level plan. Those plans aim to ensure the sustainable harvesting of commercial stocks and provide a mechanism to address potential ecosystem-level impacts associated with specific fisheries. As part of the FMP drafting process, Statutory Nature Conservation Bodies provide advice on the potential impacts of each fishery on a selected suite of UKMS descriptors in which there is evidence for an impact pathway. BH3a can facilitate understanding of the potential seabed impacts of specific fisheries and/or gear types and inform the development of fishery-specific mitigation strategies. As part of the advisory process, evidence gaps and opportunities to improve data collection and analyses could also be highlighted.

References

Defra (2019). Marine Strategy Part One: UK updated assessment and Good Environmental Status.

European Commission (2023). Descriptors under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive. Available online: https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/marine-environment/descriptors-under-marine-strategy-framework-directive_en#descriptor-6-seabed-integrity. (Accessed 21/11/2023).

ICES (2021). OSPAR request on the production of spatial data layers of fishing intensity / pressure. ICES Technical service.

JNCC (2019). The UK Approach to assessing Conservation Status for the 2019 Article 17 reporting under the EU Habitats Directive. Joint Nature Conservation Committee, Peterborough. Available to download from https://jncc.gov.uk/article17.

Matear, L., Vina-Herbon, C., Woodcock, K.A., Duncombe-Smith, S.W., Smith, A.P., Schmitt, P., Kreutle, A., Marra, S., Curtis, E.J., and Baigent, H.N. (2023). Extent of Physical Disturbance to Benthic Habitats: Fisheries. In: OSPAR, 2023: The 2023 Quality Status Report for the Northeast Atlantic. OSPAR Commission, London. Available at: https://oap.ospar.org/en/ospar-assessments/quality-status-reports/qsr-2023/indicator-assessments/phys-dist-habs-fisheries/

OSPAR (2020). OSPAR Habitats in the North-East Atlantic Ocean – 2020 Polygons. Available to download from: https://emodnet.ec.europa.eu/geonetwork/emodnet/eng/catalog.search#/metadata/1e7ed77a-ced4-40f5-b0be-e907c0a8f29e

Pebesma, E. (2018). Simple Features for R: Standardized Support for Spatial Vector Data. The R Journal 10 (1), 439-446, https://doi.org/10.32614/RJ-2018-009

Technical Group on seabed habitats and sea-floor integrity (TGSeabed) (2023). Setting of EU Threshold Values for extent of loss and adverse effects on seabed habitats. Marine Strategy Framework Directive Common Implementation Strategy guidance document n.19. Seabed_D6C4_D6C5_Threshold_Values_Endorsed_2023.pdf

Wickham, H., Averick, M., Bryan, J., Chang, W., McGowan, L.D., François, R., Grolemund, G., Hayes, A., Henry, L., Hester, J., Kuhn, M., Pedersen, T.L., Miller, E., Bache, S.M., Müller, K., Ooms, J., Robinson, D., Seidel, D.P., Spinu, V., Takahashi, K., Vaughan, D., Wilke, C., Woo, K., Yutani, H. (2019). “Welcome to the tidyverse.” Journal of Open Source Software, 4(43), 1686. doi:10.21105/joss.01686.

Authors

Kirsty Woodcock¹, Liam Matear², Stephen Duncombe-Smith¹, Cristina Vina-Herbon¹

¹Joint Nature Conservation Committee

²Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs

Contributors: this assessment built upon the Extent of Physical Disturbance to Benthic Habitats: Fisheries with mobile bottom-contacting gears indicator from the OSPAR QSR 2023 (Matear and others, 2023). Thresholds for assessing Good Environmental Status were developed and applied to the maritime area relevant to UKMS reporting.

Supported by: The Benthic Sub-Group of the Healthy and Biologically Diverse Seas Evidence Group

Assessment metadata

Assessment Type	UK Marine Strategy
	Benthic Habitats


Point of contact email	marinestrategy@defra.gov.uk
Metadata date	Saturday, March 1, 2025
Title	Extent of Physical Disturbance to Benthic Habitats: Fisheries with mobile bottom-contacting gears
Resource abstract
Linkage	Matear, L., Vina-Herbon, C., Woodcock, K.A., Duncombe-Smith, S.W., Smith, A.P., Schmitt, P., Kreutle, A., Marra, S., Curtis, E.J., and Baigent, H.N. 2023. Extent of Physical Disturbance to Benthic Habitats: Fisheries. In: OSPAR, 2023: The 2023 Quality Status Report for the Northeast Atlantic. OSPAR Commission, London. Available at: https://oap.ospar.org/en/ospar-assessments/quality-status-reports/qsr-2023/indicator-assessments/phys-dist-habs-fisheries/
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Dataset metadata	Information on metadata is provided here: OSPAR Extent of Physical Disturbance to Benthic Habitats - Data Snapshot: https://odims.ospar.org/en/submissions/ospar_phys_dist_habs_dsnap_2023_06/
Dataset DOI	Data files used in the assessment can be found here: OSPAR Extent of Physical Disturbance to Benthic Habitats - Data Snapshot: https://odims.ospar.org/en/submissions/ospar_phys_dist_habs_dsnap_2023_06/

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Dataset – The datasets included in the assessment should be accessible, and reflect the exact copies or versions of the data used in the assessment. This means that if extracts from existing data were modified, filtered, or otherwise altered, then the modified data should be separately accessible, and described by metadata (acknowledging the originators of the raw data).

Dataset metadata – information on the data sources and characteristics of data sets used in the assessment (MEDIN and INSPIRE compliance).

Digital Object Identifier (DOI) – a persistent identifier to provide a link to a dataset (or other resource) on digital networks. Please note that persistent identifiers can be created/minted, even if a dataset is not directly available online.

Indicator assessment metadata – data and information about the content, quality, condition, and other characteristics of an indicator assessment.

MEDIN discovery metadata - a list of standardized information that accompanies a marine dataset and allows other people to find out what the dataset contains, where it was collected and how they can get hold of it.