Water Quality
Nutrients: Nutrient deposition (primarily Nitrogen, Phosphorous, and Silica) into the ocean from land-based activities from approximately 1950 to present day. Land-based activities include agricultural, industrial, and urban waste from point (ex. disposing of industrial waste directly into the coastal waters) or non-point (ex. agricultural runoff from the use of fertilizers and pesticides) sources.

Temperature: Average trend (increasing or decreasing) of sea surface temperature (°C) from pre-industrial times to present day.

Acidification: Carbon dioxide (CO2) absorption into the ocean affects the pH of the waters. The acidity of CO2 is neutralized by carbonates such as aragonite which is used by organisms such as corals and other shelled marine organisms for body structure.  Increases in atmospheric CO2 have had influence on the ocean’s carbonate chemistry and absorptive capacity by rising the depth at which seawater is no longer saturated with aragonite.

Marine Fauna
Fish and Fisheries: Fish landings are measured using current estimates of three indicators: the percent of fish stocks that are currently overexploited; the Marine Trophic Index (MTI) of the fish catches (a low MTI indicates catches that are dominated by small fish such as sardines and anchovies due to overexploited top predators such as cod and tuna; a high MTI indicates catches that are dominated by larger, top predator fish); and the amount of fish catch (tonnes).

Others: The latest version of the IUCN Red List (2010) was used to determine the number of marine species who were of least concern or who had some classification of concern (near threatened, vulnerable, endangered, critically endangered, extinct in wild, or extinct). The state of marine species was measured by comparing the number of species of least concern to those of concern.

Shipping/Ballast Water: Port activity in terms of total cargo shipped (tonnes) or total bulk carrier (tonnes) was used to assess the risk from invasive species introduced by ballast water exchange at the ports.