Archive:SDG 14 - Life below water (statistical annex)
This Statistics Explained article has been archived - for recent articles on sustainable development in the European Union see here.
Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development (statistical annex)
Data extracted in May 2021.
Highlights
This article provides an overview of statistical data on SDG 14 ‘Life below water’ in the European Union (EU). It is based on the set of EU SDG indicators for monitoring of progress towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in an EU context.
This article is part of a set of statistical articles, which are based on the Eurostat publication ’Sustainable development in the European Union — Monitoring report on progress towards the SDGS in an EU context — 2021 edition’. This report is the fifth edition of Eurostat’s series of monitoring reports on sustainable development, which provide a quantitative assessment of progress of the EU towards the SDGs in an EU context.
Full article
Table 1: Indicators measuring progress towards SDG 14, EU
Table 2: Explanation of symbols for indicating progress towards SD objectives and targets
Bathing sites with excellent water quality
Bathing water quality is assessed according to standards for microbiological parameters (intestinal enterococci and Escherichia coli). This indicator is calculated based on the result of 16 sampling events in four years to be sure that most weather events are covered. The Bathing Water Directive (BWD) requires Member States to identify and assess the quality of all inland and marine bathing waters and to classify these waters as ‘poor’, ‘sufficient’, ‘good’ or ‘excellent’ depending on the levels of faecal bacteria detected. The data presented in this section stem from the European Environment Agency (EEA) and are based on Member State reporting under the BWD and described in the annual Briefing on the European bathing water quality.
.png)
Compound annual growth rate (CAGR): 0.6 % per year (coastal water) and 0.2 % per year (inland water) in the period 2014–2019.
Source: EEA, Eurostat (sdg_14_40)
.png)
Source: EEA, Eurostat (sdg_14_40)
Marine waters affected by eutrophication
This indicator shows the share of eutrophic marine waters in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). An area is classified as eutrophic if for more than 25 % of the observation days of a given year the chlorophyll concentrations as a proxy are above the 90th percentile of the 1998–2017 reference base line. Eutrophication is the process by which an excess of nutrients – mainly phosphorus and nitrogen – leads to increased growth of plant material, particularly algal blooms, in an aquatic body resulting in a decrease in water quality. This can, in turn, cause death by hypoxia of aquatic organisms. Anthropogenic activities, such as farming, agriculture, aquaculture, industry and sewage, are the main source of nutrient input in problem areas. The Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) requires Member States to report on eutrophication for their regional seas every 6 years. The Copernicus Marine Service calculates the indicator from satellite imagery.
.png)
Source: Mercator Ocean International, Copernicus Marine Service, Eurostat (sdg_14_60)
).png)
Source: Mercator Ocean International, Copernicus Marine Service, Eurostat (sdg_14_60)
Global mean ocean surface acidity
This indicator shows the global yearly mean surface seawater acidity expressed as pH value. The decline in pH observed on a global scale corresponds to an increase in the acidity of ocean water and vice versa. This trend is caused by an increase in atmospheric CO2, which increases the uptake of CO2 by oceans. This is directly correlated with ocean pH. The Copernicus Marine Service has reconstructed the global yearly mean surface seawater pH from 1985 onwards, based on a combination of methods which make use of in situ and remote-sensing data, as well as empirical relationships.
.png)
Compound annual growth rate (CAGR): – 0.02 % per year in the period 2004–2019; – 0.02 % per year in the period 2014–2019.
Source: EEA, Copernicus Marine Service, Eurostat (sdg_14_50)
Surface of marine sites designated under Natura 2000
This indicator measures the surface of marine sites designated under Natura 2000. The Natura 2000 network comprises both marine and terrestrial protected areas designated under the EU Habitats and Birds Directives with the goal to maintain or restore a favourable conservation status for habitat types and species of EU interest. The area of these sites can provide an indication of the implementation of the Natura 2000 network, and the ‘completeness’ of its coverage within Member State marine waters. Data provided by the Member States to the Commission are consolidated at least yearly by the European Environment Agency and the European Topic Centre on Biological Diversity (EEA ETC/BD) and collected by European Commission Directorate-General for the Environment.
.png)
Compound annual growth rate (CAGR): 12.6 % per year in the period 2014–2019.
Source: European Commission services, EEA, Eurostat (sdg_14_10)
).png)
Source: European Commission services, EEA, Eurostat (sdg_14_10)
Estimated trends in fish stock biomass
_evaluation_2021.png)
Fish stock biomass is a function of biological characteristics such as abundance and weight and can indicate the status of a fish stock when measured against reference values. This is a model-based indicator that is computed using results from single-species quantitative stock assessments. It shows the median value of fish stock biomass relative to 2003 for the North-East Atlantic and adjacent seas (FAO area 27) [1]. Time series for stock biomass estimates are provided by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES). The model-based indicator for stock biomass for the Mediterranean and Black Sea is currently excluded because it is associated with high uncertainties due to the variability of biomass estimates for this area from one year to the next [2].
,_2003-2019_(index_2003_%3D_100).png)
Source: Joint Research Centre (JRC) — Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF), Eurostat (sdg_14_21)
Assessed fish stocks exceeding fishing mortality at maximum sustainable yield (FMSY)
_in_the_North-East_Atlantic_evaluation_2021.png)
To ensure fish stocks are exploited sustainably, the CFP aims to rebuild stocks above levels at which they can produce the maximum sustainable yield (MSY). MSY is determined by the long-term average stock size that allows fishing at this level. The indicator measures the proportion of assessed fish stocks where current fishing mortality (F) exceeds the estimated maximum sustainable yield (FMSY), expressed with the term F> FMSY. Data are provided by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES). The Mediterranean and Black Sea is excluded because too few fish stock assessments were carried out in the considered timeframe [3].
_in_the_North-East_Atlantic,_2003-2019_(%25_of_stocks).png)
Source: Joint Research Centre (JRC) — Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF), Eurostat (sdg_14_30)
Direct access to
More detailed information on EU SDG indicators for monitoring of progress towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), such as indicator relevance, definitions, methodological notes, background and potential linkages, can be found in the introduction of the publication ’Sustainable development in the European Union — Monitoring report on progress towards the SDGS in an EU context — 2021 edition’.
Notes
- ↑ Model-based indicators are preferable to arithmetic mean estimates, which are sensitive to outliers.
- ↑ Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) (2019), Monitoring the performance of the Common Fisheries Policy (STECF-17-04), Publications Office of the European Union, p. 9.
- ↑ Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) (2017), Monitoring the performance of the Common Fisheries Policy (STECF-17-04), Luxembourg, Publications Office of the European Union, p. 36.