Towards Ecosystem-Based Protection of Marine Environments - Investigating the scope for marine reserves in Northern Europe under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive
European oceans are in a poor state – only 10% of marine habitats and 2% of marine species show favourable conservation status. This is largely attributed to an intense pressure from industrial human activities at sea. The Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) from 2008 is an attempt to better protect marine environments in the European Union (EU) by enforcing an Ecosystem-Based Management (E