“…The future of Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) therefore does not lie in a unified integrative index, but rather in a combined set of indices, each one providing information regarding a given problem, parameter and/or ecosystem, at a given scale. For instance, the CARLIT index provides information on the ecological status of large water bodies and shallow habitats (Ballesteros et al, 2007), the EBQI Posidonia oceanica assesses the functioning of a pivotal ecosystem resulting from multiple pressures, including overfishing Giakoumi et al, 2015), the MEDOCC index (MEDiterranean OCCidental index) assesses the ecological status of macroinvertebrate assemblages inhabiting soft substrates, in relation to organic pollution (Pinedo et al, 2015, the ALEX index (ALien Biotic Index) assesses the pressure of biological invasions on hard substrate assemblages (Piazzi et al, 2015), the LIMA index conveys the environmental interest and quality of the seascape formed by the Mediterranean benthos (Gobert et al, 2014), and the OCI (Overall Complexity Index) measures the ecological complexity of coastal marine ecosystems (Paoli et al, 2016). Both managers and scientists are now well aware that looking for a single, unified index would be equivalent to hunting the snark (Bond, 2001).…”