# Commission Decision (EU) 2017/848 of 17 May 2017 laying down criteria and methodological standards on good environmental status of marine waters and specifications and standardised methods for monitoring and assessment, and repealing Decision 2010/477/EU (Text with EEA relevance), Division: Criteria, including criteria elements, and methodological standards

Extent: E+W+S+N.I.

Criteria elements
Criteria
Methodological standards
Physical loss of the seabed (including intertidal areas).
D6C1 — Primary:
Spatial extent and distribution of physical loss (permanent change) of the natural seabed.
Scale of assessment:
As used for assessment of the benthic broad habitat types under Descriptors 1 and 6.
Use of criteria:
The outcomes of assessment of criterion D6C1 (the distribution and an estimate of the extent of physical loss) shall be used to assess criteria D6C4 and D7C1.
The outcomes of assessment of criterion D6C2 (the distribution and an estimate of the extent of physical disturbance pressures) shall be used to assess criterion D6C3.
The outcomes of assessment of criterion D6C3 (an estimate of the extent of adverse effect by physical disturbance per habitat type in each assessment area) shall contribute to the assessment of criterion D6C5.
Physical disturbance to the seabed (including intertidal areas).
D6C2 — Primary:
Spatial extent and distribution of physical disturbance pressures on the seabed.
Benthic broad habitat types or other habitat types, as used under Descriptors 1 and 6.
D6C3 — Primary:
Spatial extent of each habitat type which is adversely affected, through change in its biotic and abiotic structure and its functions (e.g. through changes in species composition and their relative abundance, absence of particularly sensitive or fragile species or species providing a key function, size structure of species), by physical disturbance.
The Secretary of State, in consultation with the devolved policy authorities, shall establish threshold values for the adverse effects of physical disturbance, through regional or subregional cooperation.
Criteria D6C1, D6C2 and D6C3 relate only to the pressures ‘physical loss’ and ‘physical disturbance’ and their impacts, whilst criteria D6C4 and D6C5 address the overall assessment of Descriptor 6, together with that for benthic habitats under Descriptor 1. Criteria D6C4 and D6C5 are presented under Part II of this Annex.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eudn/2017/848/annex/part/I/division/4/division/1 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/eu-decision-2017-848/annex/part-I/division-4/division-1
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.