1.2 General context of ICES advice June

Almost all ICES member countries have policies that address the impacts of human activities on marine ecosystems. These policies may explicitly be framed as an implementation of an ecosystem approach. An important example is the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) of the European Union (EC, 2008), which is a comprehensive framework for achieving good environmental status (GES) for European marine ecosystems. The Directive calls for scientifically-based indicators and standards for eleven descriptors of GES such as Biodiversity, Non-indigenous Species, Commercially Exploited Fish and Shellfish Stocks, Foodwebs, and Sea-floor Integrity.