This is a 9 month project funded by the Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Research Technological Development and Innovation Programme, National Development Plan 2000 – 2006. The 2 partners of the project are the Marine Institute and the Central Fisheries Board. The projects primary objective is to collect Benthos, Plants and Fish data (historical and new) from transitional and coastal waters and test the tools that have been put forward for determining the quality of water for the Water Framework Directive.