Moses Index: Blue Economy Pressure Index

It measures the use of the sea based on the socio-economic impact (direct and indirect) of the economic activity of the artisanal fleet on the marine environment.

The Moses Index (password: MOSES_AZTI) is a synthetic index based on a set of indicators to measure the impact of the blue economic activity on the EU’s marine resources, and in particular by the fisheries sector – NACE 3.11 (and each of its activities such as the small-scale fleet).

This index, developed in the European Moses project, identifies for each maritime activity:

• the use of the marine ecosystem based on direct socio-economic impacts (measured on the basis of traditional business variables such as revenue, value added, employment generated, etc.)
• the ripple effect on the marine environment based on the potential use of marine ecosystem services (food provisioning services, regulating services and cultural services).

A series of multipliers are applied to the above business variables to determine the indirect socio-economic impact of artisanal activity on the marine environment. The size of these multipliers depends on the characteristics of the activity, such as the spatial extent or frequency with which the economic activity takes place, but also on the specific characteristics of the natural system where the activity takes place. A larger multiplier should be identified if the socio-economic system associated with the small-scale fleet is more dependent on marine ecosystem services.

The Moses index responds to the needs set out in the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), the Blue Growth Strategy, and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive.