In the JPI Oceans Joint Action Science for Good Environmental Status (S4GES), a complementary approach towards GES is being designed to assess marine environmental health in a more holistic fashion. It relies on a sampling approach that targets the actual processes within the system, based on near real-time observations of deviations or events in the system. The core idea and primary goal of S4GES is to support the implementation of MSFD with a complementary approach that increases the efficiency and effectiveness of the observation strategies. S4GES aims to lay the foundations for such a paradigm shift by piloting the approach in different settings in European waters.
S4GES began to test this approach in a proof-of-concept sampling campaign aboard RV Belgica in the summer of 2022, for the tide-driven system in front of the Belgium and Dutch coast. During the last workshop in Brussels (February 2024), it was agreed that further validation of the «process-based» approach tested in the Belgian part of the North Sea is needed in other marine ecosystems. The goal is to provide further “proofs of concept” to propose a fit-for-purpose revision of the national observation strategies for MSFD. The meeting in Athens aims to further this goal and discuss the main scientific results as future strategy of the Joint Action.