The regional seas around Europe are the Baltic Sea, the Barents Sea, the Black Sea, the Iceland Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, the North-east Atlantic Ocean, the Norwegian Sea, and the White Sea.

The dataset includes information on the MSFD regions and subregions, as agreed by the MSFD Committee in November 2016.

In the Marine Strategy Framework Directive - MSFD (Directive 2008/56/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 June 2008 establishing a framework for community action in the field of marine environmental policy), four marine regions are listed (Article 4): Baltic Sea, North-east Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea, among which the following two are further divided into four subregions each:

In the context of MSFD, the North-east Atlantic Ocean includes:

o The Greater North Sea, including the Kattegat and the English Channel

o The Celtic Seas

o The Bay of Biscay and the Iberian Coast

o Macaronesia

In the context of MSFD, the Iceland Sea, the Norwegian Sea, and the high seas are not included.

In the context of MSFD, the Mediterranean Sea includes:

o The Western Mediterranean Sea

o The Adriatic Sea

o The Ionian Sea and the Central Mediterranean Sea

o The Aegean-Levantine Sea