Environmental problems have been given a great deal of attention in the public over the last few decades. In parallel, the requirement to be able to demonstrate the state of nature and the environment is increased in the desire to optimise efforts to reduce the human impact of nature. Examples of the use of the statistics to document the nature and environmental status of the marine areas will be examined. In addition, the focus will be on the use of indicators of natural and environmental status and the statistical problems such a simplified description of the ecosystem entails. Finally, the necessary dialogue/interaction between statisticians and biologists/chemists will be highlighted.