Water and marine environment

Ocean surface pH declined from 8.2 to below 8.1 over the industrial era as a result of an increase in atmospheric CO 2 concentrations. This decline corresponds to an increase in oceanic acidity of about 30%. Reductions in surface water pH are observed across the global ocean. Ocean acidification has impacts on marine organisms and has already affected the deep ocean, particularly at high latitudes. Models project further ocean acidification worldwide. The target under United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 14.3 is to minimise the impacts of this by 2030.

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The map present the proportion of surface water bodies (rivers, lakes, transitional and coastal waters) in less than good ecological status per River Basin District.

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As a main source of protein, commercial fish stocks and other commercial sea products are renewable resources, which could sustain human needs in the long term — if exploited in an appropriate manner. Although further improvements are still necessary, the analysis of long time series shows clear and important signs of improvement in the North-East Atlantic Ocean and Baltic Sea. At least 24-47 % of all stocks meet at least one of two criteria defining the Marine Strategy Framework Directive's 'good environmental status' (GES) in the regions respectively. Meeting these criteria means that the exploitation (i.e. fishing mortality, F) and reproductive capacity of the stocks are compatible with their maximum sustainable yield (MSY). While slightly less than half of all stocks in the region have adequate assessments allowing comparisons with at least one of the GES criteria (83% of these met at least one criterion), these assessed stocks account for approximately 75% of the landings in the NEA and Baltic Sea. Since the early 2000s, better management of fish and shellfish fisheries has contributed to a clear decrease in fishing pressure in these two regional seas, with the average fishing mortality close to F MSY  in 2018. This has led to signs of recovery in the reproductive capacity of several fish and shellfish stocks. If these efforts continue, fishing mortality in the region on average should remain near F MSY  and reproductive capacity should continue to improve towards the objective for healthy fish and shellfish stocks in the North-East Atlantic Ocean and Baltic Sea. In contrast, in the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea the situation remains critical.  Only six out of 70 stocks (8.6 %) in the Mediterranean Sea and none of the 7 stocks in the Black Sea meet at least one of the GES criteria in these regions. This is mainly due to the prevalence of overfishing and a significant lack of knowledge of the reproductive capacity state of fish and shellfish stocks. Most of the stocks considered in the Mediterranean Sea had adequate assessment to compare fishing mortality with the GES criterion, but few had measures or thresholds of reproductive capacity. In the Black Sea, five of the seven stocks had adequate assessments to evaluate fishing mortality but only one of these also had measures or thresholds for reproductive capacity. It is unlikely that the 2020 policy objective has been met in the Mediterranean and Black Seas. Given this context, the 2020 objective of having healthy commercial fish and shellfish populations is unlikely to have been met in Europe’s seas and further collective action is required.

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This figure shows trends for the North-East Atlantic and the Baltic Sea in the status of assessed commercially exploited fish and shellfish stocks between 1947 and 2019. The shaded areas represent the confidence limits. For the Mediterranean and Black Seas, no GES threshold is available for reproductive capacity. The dashed horizontal line represents the 2003 level for these regions. Due to the reduced number of stocks available for the Eastern Mediterranean Sea (only two), the indicators are not shown for this region.

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The table shows the countries' reporting performance on the basis of Eionet Core Data Flows since 2005

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The EEA marine assessment grid is a vector dataset based on the 'EEA reference grid'. It covers the Seas and Marine areas surrounding Europe. Open sea areas are covered by 100 km polygon grid shapes. Coastal areas are covered by 20 km polygon grid shapes. The combined EEA assessment grid fills the entire area of interest with grid cells without gaps and overlaps. Data and assessment results spatially mapped to the EEA assessment grid ensures that data can be compared in a uniform way across the European regional seas.

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These maps show the relative change in 10-year river water deficit under the 95th percentile for two greenhouse gas emissions scenarios (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5)

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We all want to know the quality of 'our' local bathing area, beach or lake, and whether it conforms to EU standards. Below you will find a map viewer that will allow you to view on-line the quality of the bathing water in the more than 22 000 coastal beaches and freshwater bathing waters across Europe.

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The EU Bathing Waters Directive requires Member States to identify popular bathing places in fresh and coastal waters and monitor them for indicators of microbiological pollution (and other substances) throughout the bathing season which runs from May to September

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The map reflects the most recent available information at the EU-level on implementation of the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (UWWTD) in EU 28 plus Iceland based on data reported by the Member States (for reference year 2018) in 2020.

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Waste water treatment and reductions in nutrient losses from agriculture have led to significant improvements in water quality in Europe. However, many of Europe’s freshwater bodies are still not doing well and the condition of Europe’s seas is generally poor, partly because of pollution.

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Ocean surface pH declined from 8.2 to below 8.1 over the industrial era as a result of an increase in atmospheric CO 2 concentrations. This decline corresponds to an increase in oceanic acidity of about 30%. Reductions in surface water pH are observed across the global ocean. Ocean acidification has impacts on marine organisms and has already affected the deep ocean, particularly at high latitudes. Models project further ocean acidification worldwide. The target under United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 14.3 is to minimise the impacts of this by 2030.

Read more

Read more

The map present the proportion of surface water bodies (rivers, lakes, transitional and coastal waters) in less than good ecological status per River Basin District.

Read more

This figure shows trends for the North-East Atlantic and the Baltic Sea in the status of assessed commercially exploited fish and shellfish stocks between 1947 and 2019. The shaded areas represent the confidence limits. For the Mediterranean and Black Seas, no GES threshold is available for reproductive capacity. The dashed horizontal line represents the 2003 level for these regions. Due to the reduced number of stocks available for the Eastern Mediterranean Sea (only two), the indicators are not shown for this region.

Read more

As a main source of protein, commercial fish stocks and other commercial sea products are renewable resources, which could sustain human needs in the long term — if exploited in an appropriate manner. Although further improvements are still necessary, the analysis of long time series shows clear and important signs of improvement in the North-East Atlantic Ocean and Baltic Sea. At least 24-47 % of all stocks meet at least one of two criteria defining the Marine Strategy Framework Directive's 'good environmental status' (GES) in the regions respectively. Meeting these criteria means that the exploitation (i.e. fishing mortality, F) and reproductive capacity of the stocks are compatible with their maximum sustainable yield (MSY). While slightly less than half of all stocks in the region have adequate assessments allowing comparisons with at least one of the GES criteria (83% of these met at least one criterion), these assessed stocks account for approximately 75% of the landings in the NEA and Baltic Sea. Since the early 2000s, better management of fish and shellfish fisheries has contributed to a clear decrease in fishing pressure in these two regional seas, with the average fishing mortality close to F MSY  in 2018. This has led to signs of recovery in the reproductive capacity of several fish and shellfish stocks. If these efforts continue, fishing mortality in the region on average should remain near F MSY  and reproductive capacity should continue to improve towards the objective for healthy fish and shellfish stocks in the North-East Atlantic Ocean and Baltic Sea. In contrast, in the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea the situation remains critical.  Only six out of 70 stocks (8.6 %) in the Mediterranean Sea and none of the 7 stocks in the Black Sea meet at least one of the GES criteria in these regions. This is mainly due to the prevalence of overfishing and a significant lack of knowledge of the reproductive capacity state of fish and shellfish stocks. Most of the stocks considered in the Mediterranean Sea had adequate assessment to compare fishing mortality with the GES criterion, but few had measures or thresholds of reproductive capacity. In the Black Sea, five of the seven stocks had adequate assessments to evaluate fishing mortality but only one of these also had measures or thresholds for reproductive capacity. It is unlikely that the 2020 policy objective has been met in the Mediterranean and Black Seas. Given this context, the 2020 objective of having healthy commercial fish and shellfish populations is unlikely to have been met in Europe’s seas and further collective action is required.

Read more

The table shows the countries' reporting performance on the basis of Eionet Core Data Flows since 2005

Read more

The EEA marine assessment grid is a vector dataset based on the 'EEA reference grid'. It covers the Seas and Marine areas surrounding Europe. Open sea areas are covered by 100 km polygon grid shapes. Coastal areas are covered by 20 km polygon grid shapes. The combined EEA assessment grid fills the entire area of interest with grid cells without gaps and overlaps. Data and assessment results spatially mapped to the EEA assessment grid ensures that data can be compared in a uniform way across the European regional seas.

Read more

Read more

These maps show the relative change in 10-year river water deficit under the 95th percentile for two greenhouse gas emissions scenarios (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5)

Read more

The annual Bathing Water report published today shows that in 2020, almost 83 % of Europe’s bathing water sites met the European Union’s most stringent ‘excellent’ water quality standards. The latest assessment (European bathing water quality in 2020), put together by the European Environment Agency (EEA) in cooperation with the European Commission, is based on the 2020 monitoring of 22 276 bathing sites across Europe. These cover the EU Member States, Albania and Switzerland throughout 2020.

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We all want to know the quality of 'our' local bathing area, beach or lake, and whether it conforms to EU standards. Below you will find a map viewer that will allow you to view on-line the quality of the bathing water in the more than 22 000 coastal beaches and freshwater bathing waters across Europe.

Read more

The EU Bathing Waters Directive requires Member States to identify popular bathing places in fresh and coastal waters and monitor them for indicators of microbiological pollution (and other substances) throughout the bathing season which runs from May to September

Read more

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Europe's seas are precious. Our quality of life, livelihoods and economies depend on them being in good condition. Our seas are home to many species, habitats and ecosystems. They also provide our societies with vital ecosystem services, including food, energy, clean air and climate change mitigation. However, through the continued unsustainable use of Europe’s seas, we have altered their physio-chemical environment, and their habitats and ecosystems. The resilience of our seas is eroding, while their ecosystems, habitats and biodiversity, and the services they provide are under significant threat. This briefing summarises the current state of biodiversity in Europe’s seas.

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Monitoring and reporting results for Horizon 2020 regional initiative

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The share of bathing sites with excellent water quality in Europe has increased from 53 % in 1991 to 85 % in 2019, thanks to local actions guided by binding European legislation. A new European Environment Agency (EEA) report shows how improving bathing water quality can serve as a model for successful environmental legislation and management.

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The map reflects the most recent available information at the EU-level on implementation of the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (UWWTD) in EU 28 plus Iceland based on data reported by the Member States (for reference year 2018) in 2020.

Read more

Waste water treatment and reductions in nutrient losses from agriculture have led to significant improvements in water quality in Europe. However, many of Europe’s freshwater bodies are still not doing well and the condition of Europe’s seas is generally poor, partly because of pollution.

Read more

Water covers more than 70 % of the Earth’s surface and is essential to all life on our planet. Of all the Earth’s water, 96.5 % is contained within the oceans as salt water, whereas the remaining 3.5 % is freshwater — lakes, rivers, groundwater and ice. Good management of this limited and precious resource is indispensable for the well-being of people and nature.

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