A background document for the CBD expert workshop. This document reviews the description of each of the scientific criteria and comments on their potential applications, discusses a variety of ways in which the scientific community understands these criteria, and how they can be used as a foundation for informing future decisions regarding the marine environment of the open oceans and deep seas. An important component of the document is a set of practical illustrations (Annex 2) to increase our understanding of how the seven scientific criteria can be applied. These provide a range of examples considering species, habitats and recurrent oceanographic features using a variety of techniques ranging from field surveys, satellite tracking of tagged animals and remote sensing, to sophisticated modelling and range prediction. These illustrations are not meant as proposals for specific management measures, but are simply presented as examples of various scientific methods and techniques relevant to each criterion.