Description: <DIV STYLE="text-align:Left;font-size:12pt"><P><SPAN>The main activities driving pressures on benthic habitats, based on Commission Directive 845/2017 are: - extraction of living resources (fish and shellfish harvesting); - transport; - extraction of non-living resources; - production of energy; and cultivation of living resources (marine aquaculture). For example, data from the Offshore Fishing Activity Monitoring is factored into this spatial assessment as a pressure. The predominant fishing activity associated with abrasion on the seafloor is demersal trawling and dredging. The Offshore Fishing Activity Monitoring dataset includes several steps and is defined in the OSPAR VMS and Logbook data call serviced through the ICES secretariat. Trawling effort is classified as an intensity scale using the effort data as swept area ratios (SAR’s). The intensity is scaled using 5 categories ranging from none to very high. An area fished more than 3 times is classed as being highly disturbed.</SPAN></P></DIV>
Description: <DIV STYLE="text-align:Left;font-size:12pt"><P><SPAN>The sensitivity of benthic ecosystem components is determined by their resistance (ability to tolerate disturbance or stress) and resilience (time required to recover). Resistance of a species or habitat can be assessed using a scale and illustrates a species or habitats ability to re-establish from impairment from the physical impact on the seafloor. Resilience from physical impacts on the seafloor is dependent on the benthic components ability to regenerate or recolonize. Predominantly this may only be possible after the impact has ceased or been removed. Scores from the implementation of resistance and resilience characteristics of benthic components are combined to produce the general sensitivity score matrix. </SPAN></P></DIV>