Development of ecological indicators for the Dutch section of the North Sea

Sustainable use of marine waters has a high priority as part of international and national agendas. The quality of marine ecosystems reflects both the level of human pressures and natural environmental processes. Knowledge is key to making efficient policy recommendations regarding ecosystem management. In the past decade, the development of indicators has played an important role in enabling policy-makers to understand ecosystem changes while helping them make concrete recommendations towards improvement of their marine environments. Such indicators should describe the quality of the ecosystem, have strong scientific basis, and have the advantage of simplicity. This article presents the steps taken to develop ecological indicators for The Netherlands section of the North Sea. Among the current set of indicators used in The Netherlands, two are presented to illustrate how they are used in ecosystem management.

Article from Marine Science Symposia Vol. 219 - "Hydrobiological variability in the ICES Area, 1990-1999", symposium held in Edinburgh, 8-10 August 2001. To access  the remaining articles please click on the keyword "MSS Vol. 219".