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Environmental information systems
The marine environment is a vital resource for life on Earth as it performs a number of key environmental functions. It needs to be protected.
Our oceans and seas are under threat from over-fishing, sea-floor damage, pollution by nutrient enrichment and contaminants, the spread of non-indigenous species, marine litter and underwater noise. Find out more about these pressures and their cumulative effects on Europe’s Seas in our technical report.
In addition to implementing a large number of EU marine environment policies and legislation that tackle the above-mentioned pressures, the European Union has established marine protected areas. These are geographically distinct zones for which protection objectives exist and helps protecting marine biodiversity, maintaining marine ecosystem health and the supply of ecosystem services. Learn more about these marine protected areas in our dedicated briefing.
Monitoring the health of marine ecosystems is essential because it allows to recognize patterns and trends, and informs necessary interventions. The EEA provides a wide collection of marine data through the Marine Information System for Europe (WISE-Marine).
As a citizen, you may also help by joining beach clean-up events to free our oceans from plastic waste or gather information to aid authorities in managing and preventing marine litter.
For further information, please also consult our topic page on Seas and coasts and the the EEA report Marine Messages II, especially the chapter on solutions. You may also be interested to consult the briefing on How climate change impacts marine life.