Description: This deliverable reports on the achievements of the EuroSea project in developing targeted indicators co-designed with demonstrators (WPs 5–7) and forecasts (WP4). For this, the indicators implemented are expressed in term of Essential Ocean/Climate Variables (EOVs/ECVs) together with their requirements. The co-development undertaken address ocean indicators for all range of scales: from the large, basin scale to the regional and local scales. Such approach as well as the proposed solution to focus, at regional/local scales, on EEZs, represent one of the innovative results of EuroSea that will help to rationalize risks assessments and guide environmental management approaches in European Seas.

Description: This task set out to increase communication between the ocean monitoring and modelling communities in the Baltic Sea area. Through these improved communications, the goal was to advance and improve the HELCOM marine environmental assessments. To gain confidence in the numerical model outputs, an effort was undertaken to ensure ocean observing in-situ data, collected by multiple nations in the Baltic Sea, was assimilated into a numerical model. Here, we report on the development of indicators, as requested by our stakeholders, and we discuss if the Baltic Sea numerical modelling efforts are ready to augment regional environmental status reports, and can our results help guide environmental management in the region.

Description: The European Ocean Observing and Forecasting System (EOOFS) plays a pivotal role in understanding, monitoring, forecasting, and managing the complex dynamics and resources of Europe's Seas. It serves as a critical interdisciplinary system for addressing a myriad of challenges, from climate change impacts to marine resources management. However, to ensure its continued effectiveness, it is essential to identify and address the gaps within this system and provide actionable recommendations for improvements at short- and long-term. Therefore, this document serves as a baseline that can guide the funders and supporters of the EOOFS, as well as the various stakeholders directly or indirectly related to the EOOFS, towards the gaps that hinder better monitoring and prediction of various ocean phenomena, along the ocean observing value chain. The main identified gaps are related to spatial and temporal coverage of data and products of the EOOFS, the data integration and accessibility by various types of users, the uncertainties of projections, the technological challenges, as well as to the engagement of various actors and the communication of results and services to them. The main recommendations to be taken into consideration for addressing all highlighted gaps are detailed in the report for every phenomenon and component of the ocean value chain. These recommendations are not provided just to satisfy the academic interest of the EOOFS community, however, they may have profound implications for multiple sectors and the society as a whole, if taken into consideration. This is due to the fact that the EOOFS is essential for climate change mitigation and adaptation measures, in improving the efficiency of the marine resources’ management, in enhancing the resilience of marine and coastal ecosystems as well as coastal cities and infrastructures against disasters and extreme events, for shipping and navigation safety, and for the scientific advancements and innovations of Europe in the field of marine science that serves the society. We propose a scoring approach that can evaluate the EOOFS readiness level (RL) in monitoring ocean phenomena, on a regular basis and in a systematic way. We have demonstrated the usefulness of this approach by implementing it based on our assessment and the feedback of the EOOFS community. The main results clearly show that the EOOFS has “Fitness for Purpose” readiness levels (RL 7) in the three main pillars of the value chain (Input, Process, and Output) only for one ocean phenomenon, while 83% of ocean phenomena have RLs varying from 1 (Idea) to 4 (Trial). A deeper analysis of the scoring results reflects that the EOOFS major gaps are predominantly concentrated in two of its three pillars: the coordination and observational elements (Process) and data management and information products (Output) (Figure 1). In a changing world that is affecting all aspects of European lives, it is crucial to significantly invest and support the EOOFS to better monitor and accurately predict the European Seas, and provide sustained services that can help businesses and improve the resilience of communities and resources.

Description: The ICES Study Group on the North Sea Benthos Project 2000 undertook to integrate recent (1999–2002) macrobenthic infaunal and environmental data from various national sources. The main aim was to compare the outcome with that of the ICES North Sea Benthos Survey conducted in 1986, to identify any significant changes and their likely causes. In the process, the exercise yielded valuable lessons for the conduct of international collaborative programmes, as well as insights into the utility of a range of interpretational tools. These are timely in view of increasing requirements for periodic sea-wide assessments of quality status to meet international obligations, such as those under OSPAR, ICES, HELCOM, and EU auspices for European waters. This paper provides an overview of the work which, in contrast to the 1986 survey, was more reliant on the opportunistic gathering of existing data from various sources. This presented special challenges for locating willing contributors, and then for combining and managing the sources effectively, a task which was greatly facilitated by dedicated data management support. The range of interpretational approaches aimed at evaluating spatial patterns and changes over time are summarised and the overall conclusions are presented. North Sea benthic communities appear to exhibit traits both of resilience and adaptability over different scales but continue to be structured by predominantly natural forces. Finally, lessons learnt from the ICES NSBP 2000 initiative are reviewed, and recommendations are made for the conduct of future surveys on comparable scales in the North Sea and elsewhere.

Description: Over the past two decades, cephalopod molluscs have attracted increased attention from marine biologists and fishery scientists. Several species are important for European fisheries, as targets of small‐scale coastal fisheries and/or as bycatch in multispecies fisheries for demersal fish. The present report draws on a series of reviews prepared in 2005 for the CEPHSTOCK project (see Section 1). The taxonomy of the main resource species is reviewed (Section 2), and brief descriptions of each species are provided, along with information from studies of population genetics, habitat requirements of paralarvae and adults, and health and ecotoxicology (Section 3). The main fisheries are described, including illustration of gears used in specialized small‐scale fisheries and a discussion of the socio‐economic importance of the fisheries. The current status of cephalopod aquaculture is reviewed, highlighting notable advances in commercial culture of octopus and cuttlefish (Section 4). Current fishery data collection and fishery management are described, noting that there is no setting of landings quotas and no routine assessment of stock status. Options for stock assessment are discussed, drawing on one‐off assessments made during specific projects and current practice elsewhere in the world. The “live fast, die young” lifehistory strategies of cephalopods present particular challenges, but parallels can be drawn with short‐lived fish (Section 5). Finally, the report looks to the future, reviewing possible effects of climate change on cephalopods. It discusses the future development of aquaculture and fisheries for cephalopods, including prospects for fishery forecasting and fishery management – especially in relation to the small‐scale directed fisheries. Various knowledge gaps are identified, and ideas for research to fill these gaps are presented.