Indicators of impacts from human activities on benthic habitats (including bottom trawling) are being developed and operationalised to assess the achievement of Good Environmental Status within the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD);(Descriptor 1 on maintaining the biodiversity, Descriptor 6 on seafloor integrity). These assessments support the policy making of the EU Directorate General Environment (DGENV) with science-based evidence. The Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) under the auspice of EU Maritime Affairs & Fisheries (DG MARE) regulates fishing activities at the European level. From the fishing viewpoint, there is an apparent trade-off between the conservation of the seafloor integrity (MSFD D6) and the exploitation of the marine (fish and shellfish) resources. The trade-off warrants documenting to ensure the sustainability of both the marine habitat being fished and the gains from fisheries. Considerable efforts to demonstrate these trade-offs have already been undertaken in a series of workshops in 2017: WKBENTH (28 February–3 March 2017); WKSTAKE and WKTRADE (28–31 March 2017).