The Selleckchem Epigenetics Compound Library MSFD presented 11 descriptors which need to be assessed (for details, see Borja et al. (2010)): (1) biodiversity; (2) non-indigenous species; (3) exploited fish and shellfish; (4) food webs; (5) human-induced eutrophication; (6) sea-floor integrity; (7) hydrographical conditions; (8) contaminants in water and sediment; (9) contaminants in fish and shellfish; (10) marine litter; and (11) introduction of energy/noise. Taking into account the extent of our oceans, and the need to monitor all of them, better developments in marine observation and sampling are needed, to be implemented together

with the classical monitoring surveys. Examples are shown below (the potential related descriptors, as numbered above, are shown between parentheses). (i) Development of physico-chemical and biological sensors, to measure new variables (i.e. a variety of pollutants, different nutrients,

etc.), including low-cost sensors to be included in automatic stations and oceanographic buoys (1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9). Until now, most of the automatic devices are high-cost, so routine and extensive monitoring will require a reduction of costs. In this way, the recent European initiative ‘Marine Knowledge 2020’ (http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/jrc/index.cfm?id=2820&dt_code=HLN&obj_id=533) tries to collect data and observations from our seas, to facilitate access to data layers of comparable and compatible parameters; and to apply this information for improving our knowledge of marine waters. After obtaining the information, some new technologies (or improvement of those existing) Oxalosuccinic acid for analysis and integration of the information are needed, as shown below (the potential related descriptors, as numbered

click here above, are shown between parentheses). (i) Development of automatic identification and counting of species, and use of genetics in identification (1, 2, 3, 6). There is an increasing need for rapid assessment of marine systems, which probably will require fast automatic taxonomic identification, at least to family level. In addition, as these descriptors are used to assess environmental status, especially in relation to the human pressures to which our oceans are being affected, there is also a need of new methods and technologies for restoration of degraded ecosystems. Minimization of impacts could be undertaken by means of Marine Spatial Planning (Ehler and Douvere, 2009), to avoid accumulation of pressures in key areas. Some of the most important human pressures (Claudet and Fraschetti, 2010) in open waters are listed below (not exhaustive), together with some suggestions on technologies to remove or reduce them. (i) Fishing: minimization of fuel consumption (design of new engines, software for route optimization, etc.), added value for by-catches (transformation, new products, etc.), design of more selective fishing gears, polyvalent fishing boats (i.e. able to catch different species, using different gears), marine reserves creation and management, etc.