Dr Georgios Kazanidis (UEDIN) gave a presentation entitled ‘the challenge of assessing Good Environmental Status (GES) in the deep sea: the ATLAS approach’. Dr Cova Orejas (IEO), Dr Angel Borja (AZTI), Dr Lea-Anne Henry (UEDIN), Dr David Stirling (MSS), Dr Lenaick Menot (IFREMER) and Prof J Murray Roberts (UEDIN) were coauthors.

Georgios gave an overview of the procedure followed in ATLAS referring to the 9 Case Studies under examination for GES, the methodology followed for the selection of appropriate indicators, and the use of NEAT (Nested Environmental status Assessment Tool) software which is used in ATLAS for GES assessment. The presentation was followed by questions and discussion with participants from the IDEM project as well as other projects in the field of the MSFD. Through these fruitful discussions, several aspects of MSFD/GES were approached which unraveled common threads among the projects and served as basis for possible collaborations in the future.

Georgios is grateful to the MASTS Oil & Gas Forum for the award of the Small Travel Grant (250.00 GBP) as well as to the ATLAS project for covering expenses.  

* The Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) is the European Union’s ambitious plan for the efficient protection of the marine environment across Europe. The cornerstone in the MSFD is the achievement of Good Environmental Status (GES) of the EU’s marine waters by 2020. This on-going process requires collaboration among people and countries to secure a healthy and productive environment for future generations.    

By Dr Georgios Kazanidis