Review of the Commission Decision 2010/477/EU concerning MSFD criteria for assessing Good Environmental Status: Descriptor 9 Contaminants in fish and other seafood for human consumption do not exceed levels established by Community legislation or other relevant standards

This report represents the result of the scientific and technical review of Commission Decision 2010/477/EU in relation to Descriptor 9. The review has been carried out by the EC JRC together with experts nominated by EU Member States, and has considered contributions from the GES Working Group in accordance with the roadmap set out in the MSFD implementation strategy (agreed on at the 11th CIS MSCG meeting). The report is one of a series of reports (review manuals) including Descriptor 1, 2, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10 that conclude phase 1 of the review process and, as agreed within the MSFD Common Implementation Strategy, are the basis for review phase 2, towards an eventual revision of the Commission Decision 2010/477/EU. The report presents the state of the technical discussions as of 30 April 2015 (document version 8.0: ComDecRev_D9_V8), as some discussions are ongoing, it does not contain agreed conclusions on all issues. The views expressed in the document do not necessarily represent the views of the European Commission.JRC.H.1-Water Resource

Black Sea

The Black Sea is a deep (approx. 2200 m), semienclosed European basin with 87% of the volume being anoxic, which leads to several consequences for its biodiversity. Challenges due to climate changes as well as high anthropogenic impacts have led to intense study of the Black Sea’s environmental future. Although its area is only approximately 410,000 km2, the Black Sea receives drainage from almost one-third of continental Europe, and so it has hydrological inputs and influences from a huge area. It borders six countries with diverse climatic and socioeconomic circumstances. Its role in human activities dates back to the earliest times of European history, which partly explains the impacts it has received. Recent past periods of high eutrophication and overfishing of top predators are now a part of history, but they triggered a change in the Black Sea system to a new state that damaged its resilience. Previously, the whole sea was close to collapse, but today pressures have changed and now include invasive species, more limited fresh water input, global changes in atmospheric dynamics, and others that lead to unpredictable changes, which, along with human economic activities, make the future of the Black Sea the subject of intense scientific interest