scope:

This International Standard provides guidance for marine biological surveys of supralittoral, eulittoral and sublittoral hard substrate for environmental impact assessment and monitoring in coastal areas. This International Standard comprises development of the sampling programme, survey methods, species identification, and storage of data and collected material. This International Standard specifies the minimum requirements for environmental monitoring. The methods are limited to surveys and semi-quantitative and quantitative recording techniques that cause little destruction of the fauna and flora. In practice, this refers to direct recording in the field and photography. Sampling by scraping off organisms, use of a suction sampler, etc. are not covered in this International Standard, but such techniques can be used as a supplement to obtain information on small-sized species or those that live hidden.