Is rarity a good criterion for marine biological valuation?

• All participants agree that ‘rarity’ should be kept as a first-order criterion.
  • Clear definitions are needed!
  • Most groups would only assess rarity at the physical/habitat level and not on the genetic or species level.

Notes

These paragraphs reflect the main discussion outcomes of the ENCORA Theme 7-MARBEF Theme 3 workshop on marine biological valuation (6-8 December 2006, Gent, Belgium). The workshop was a joint venture of the EU CA ENCORA (http://www.encora.org) and the EU NoE MARBEF (http://www.marbef.org). Both Theme 7 within ENCORA and Theme 3 within MARBEF deal with marine/coastal biological valuation and the workshop aimed to reach a consensus on this topic.