The user organisation
Conducted as a PhD research project supported by the Portuguese funding agency, Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT), this study utilized the EMODnet Portal to collect data on the occurrence and distribution of human activities at sea. The goal was to investigate the regulations of activities and protection provided by Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) within the European Union.
This study was facilitated by the Fisheries, Biodiversity and Conservation team of the Portuguese Centro de Ciências do Mar do Algarve (CCMAR), the CRIOBE laboratory of the French National Center for Research (CNRS) and the Agroecology Unit of the French Institute for Agricultural Research (INRAE). CCMAR, one of Portugal's leading marine science research centres, is based on a multidisciplinary team including marine biology, ecology, oceanography, environmental sciences, biotechnology, fisheries and aquaculture. The team of the INRAE Agroecology unit investigates the development of sustainable agriculture, which would enable production to meet food requirements in terms of quality and quantity while respecting the environment. The research conducted at the CRIOBE laboratory focuses on coral reef functioning and management.
EMODnet services used
The European Union Biodiversity Strategy aims for 30% of EU seas to be under MPA coverage and 10% under strict protection by 2030, despite lacking an assessment of existing regulations. This study assessed available datasets, including marine spatial plans, and regulations of human activities, summarizing overall protection levels using the MPA Guide standards. In 2022, MPAs covered 11.4% of EU national waters, of which 0.2% was fully or highly protected. Despite most EU Member States having Maritime Spatial Plans (MSP), regulations of assessed activities were known in less than half of the MPA area. The study highlighted persistent data gaps and that EU MPAs are not primarily used to regulate impactful activities. These results can serve as a benchmark for monitoring and future evaluation of MPA policies.
Impact of EMODnet
All EMODnet Human Activities data were utilized in this study, along with other reports of activities and regulations, from national MSP geoportals, MPA expert assessments, and ProtectedSeas’ Navigator data. The EMODnet data was filtered for recent reporting, and active leases, excluding terrestrial uses and maritime activities not overlapping with MPA polygons.
The EMODnet data overlapping with EU MPAs provided information on activities allowed and planned within MPAs. This data was crucial as detailed MPA and human activities data were missing for several EU Member States. There are currently no European or national databases reporting activities’ regulations in EU MPAs, and regulations are spread across multiple data sources. The EMODnet data was detailed in describing the type of activity, institution in charge, and lease validity, though highly variable across countries.
The EMODnet dataset on Human activities was key in conducting the first assessment of regulations in marine protected areas in the European Union, we could use its reporting on many maritime activities to partially address the many gaps in reporting of MPA regulations.
– Juliette Aminian-Biquet, CCMAR, INRAE, CNRS-CRIOBE
References
Aminian-Biquet, J., Gorjanc, S., Sletten, J., Vincent, T., Laznya, A., Vaidianu, N., ... & e Costa, B. H. (2024). Over 80% of the European Union’s marine protected area only marginally regulates human activities. One Earth, 7(9), 1614-1629. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2024.07.010
Aminian-Biquet, J., Sletten, J., Vincent, T., Pieraccini, M., Queffelec, B., Laznya, A., ... & Horta e Costa, B. (2025). Major data gaps and recommendations in monitoring regulations of activities in EU marine protected areas. npj Ocean Sustainability, 4(1), 3. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2024.111177
Aminian-Biquet, J., Colegrove, C., Driedger, A., Raudsepp, N., Sletten, J., Vincent, T., ... & e Costa, B. H. (2024). Regulations of activities and protection levels in marine protected areas of the European Union: A dataset compiled from multiple data sources. Data in Brief, 57, 111177. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2024.111177
Figure: Main results of the two research papers using the EMODnet data depicting A. Percentage of MPA coverage for which we could find activities-related data; B. Distribution of protection levels in MPA area out of EU waters in the pie chart, with the regional distribution and MPA distribution on the map; C. MPA coverage with data for the different maritime activities investigated. ©Juliette Aminian-Biquet