Reaching a good eutrophication status for the Baltic Sea will bring about increased human welfare and economic benefits to citizens in the coastal countries. The benefits that are lost if the Baltic Sea does not reach a good environmental status are called the cost of degradation. The monetary benefits of reducing eutrophication have been assessed in a Baltic-wide stated preference contingent valuation study in Ahtiainen et al.
The study captured a variety of eutrophication effects, including water clarity, cyanobacterial blooms, underwater meadows, fish species composition and oxygen deficiency at the sea bottom. The change in eutrophication was described using all of these effects. The study covers all nine coastal countries and considers a change in the condition of the entire Baltic Sea. The target state in the study corresponds closely to that of achieving a good environmental status of the sea, stating that all sub-basins except the Northern Baltic Proper have achieved good status.
The time frame in the study is somewhat longer than in current policies, as it is set to the year Reaching a good status earlier than might bring about even greater benefits, as people generally place more value on goods and services that they obtain sooner. Figure B4. The total losses are estimated at 3. Annual benefit losses from eutrophication euros per person and total in the Baltic Sea region million euros.
Source: Ahtiainen et al. Download Figure B4. The management of Baltic Sea eutrophication has been advanced with the Baltic Sea Action Plan HELCOM , which includes a complete management cycle aiming for specified improved conditions in the Baltic Sea, based on the best available scientific information and a model-based decision support system.
Core indicators with associated threshold values representing good status with regard to eutrophication are established primarily from monitoring data, which are interpreted through statistical analysis. In a following step, the relationships between changes in the inputs of nutrients to the Baltic Sea and the core indicators are established by physical-biogeochemical modelling. These relationships differ across sub-basins because of differences in water circulation, ecosystem characteristics, and inputs, for example.
The model results give estimates of the maximum allowable input of nutrients to the different sub-basins in order for the core indicators to achieve their threshold values over time, recognizing that this might take many years. The input reductions necessary to reach the basin-wise maximum inputs of nutrients are allocated to the HELCOM countries as country-wise reduction targets.
Marine and coastal recreation is an activity which is dependent on the state of the Baltic Sea environment. Thus, it is possible to assess both the current economic value of recreation, and the losses in recreation values due to the deterioration of the marine environment.
Results are available from a recent extensive study on Baltic Sea recreation that covers all coastal countries Czajkowski et al. The value of current Baltic Sea recreational visits represents the economic benefit from the activity.
The estimates are based on information about travel costs and the number of recreational visits people make to the Baltic Sea and its coast. They measure the total value of Baltic Sea recreation visits during a year. The total recreational benefits of the Baltic Sea are around 15 billion euros annually Figure B3.
Figure B3. Annual value of marine and coastal recreation and average number of annual recreational trips to the Baltic Sea. Data from the year Source: Czajkowksi et al. Download Figure B3. The change in recreation values stems from the predicted change in the expected number of trips to the Baltic Sea when the perceived environmental conditions change, based on econometric modelling.
The losses of recreation values due to the deterioration of the marine environment are estimated to be 1—2 billion euros annually Figure B3. The total losses of recreation values are 1—2 billion euros annually for the Baltic Sea region. Source: Czajkowski et al.
This extensive study is an example of the necessity and importance of economic valuation studies that cover all coastal countries, but further studies are needed across all countries before the results of the assessment can form a basis for the socioeconomic value of recreation in the Baltic Sea region. The ecosystem services approach allows for a holistic analysis of the links between the status of the ecosystem and human well-being, and is not limited to market based information.
The graph shows the results of this method applied in Sweden Fig. Figure B Example on how human activities benefit from an impact on the environment. The bubble sizes represent the value added of each activity. The vertical axis represent the total environmental impact of human activities on the ecosystem services, and the horizontal axis represent the activities dependency on the state of ecosystem services.
Economically and ecologically sound marine management would shift the location of the bubbles downward and increase the size of the bubbles. The result of this method is expected to vary from country to country. Degradation of the environment causes multiple adverse effects that reduce the economic benefits or welfare that people obtain from the marine environment, including increased water turbidity and more frequent cyanobacterial blooms, reduction and changes in fish stocks, contamination of fish and seafood, increased litter on the beaches and in the sea, and loss of marine biodiversity.
The economic benefits that are lost if the sea does not reach a good environmental status are called the cost of degradation see Figure B3. It is important to acknowledge the related uncertainties when using such value estimates. When estimating, the focus can be either on degradation themes, such as eutrophication, or ecosystem services, such as recreation.
Various methodological approaches and assessment results are available for estimating losses in human welfare. When no such data are available for a certain country or region, value transfer is an example of how to relate existing individual evaluation to entire marine region. Results from currently available analyses are presented in this chapter for recreation Box 3. Illustration of the cost of degradation concept. Economic and social analysis of the use of marine waters examines the economic contribution to regional and national economies from using marine waters in their current state.
This contribution is measured with economic and social indicators. In this report, the information is derived mainly from existing statistics, except for marine and coastal recreation, where statistics are complemented with data on economic value to citizens. The indicators do not capture the negative economic impacts that marine uses may have on the quality of the marine environment and thus potentially on other uses of the marine environment, but are a piece of the overall picture of how society and the marine environment are linked.
Further improving our understanding of the economic contribution from marine activities will require harmonised data across all coastal countries, reporting data separately for different sea areas Baltic and North Seas , and differentiating between land activities, freshwater activities and marine activities, particularly for tourism.
This assessment uses core indicators to measure the status of the Baltic Sea marine environment on the basis of selected and representative elements. The core indicators were selected according to a set of principles including ecological and policy relevance, measurability with the monitoring data and linkage to anthropogenic pressures HELCOM c.
The HELCOM core indicators evaluate the observed status in relation to a regionally agreed threshold value, in many cases using data from regionally coordinated monitoring. Hence, the results indicate whether status is good or not according to each of the core indicators. The integrated tools were also used in the initial holistic assessment HELCOM a and have been developed further in the second holistic assessment. The integrated assessments do not only show whether status is good or not, but also indicate the distance to good status by use of five categories; two representing good status and three representing not good status.
The assessments are performed at the spatial scale of HELCOM assessment units, which have four different levels; each core indicator being assessed at its most relevant scale. For example, birds are assessed at level 1 which is the whole region, salmon and sea trout, as well as zooplankton are assessed at level 2 which further subdivides the Baltic Sea into sub-basins.
Level 3 separates the sub-basins also into coastal and offshore areas, and level 4 uses a finer subdivision of coastal areas, in line with national management practices such as water bodies as designated under the EU Water Framework Directive.
The assessment is based on currently available core indicators. For some elements, operational indicators are still lacking or limited such as for benthic and pelagic habitats, health of marine mammals and food webs. The Baltic Sea Action Plan and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive have similar goals and objectives, and thus, progress towards achieving the same regional aim, which can be assessed using the same indicators and tools. The assessment is organised according to Pressures on the environment Chapter 4 and the status of Biodiversity and food webs Chapter 5.
The indicators used in the respective sub-chapters are listed in Table B. The EU Marine Strategy Framework descriptor related to the removal of commercial fish and shellfish can be associated with the provisions of HELCOM Declaration on ecosystem-based fisheries, while hydrological conditions cannot be directly assigned to any segment of the Baltic Sea Action Plan. Maritime activities, which is a focal area of HELCOM and one of the four BSAP segments, is linked to several of the descriptors, including eutrophication, contaminants, and non-indigenous species.
Table B. The indicators are presented by the segments of the Baltic Sea Action Plan: Eutrophication green , Hazardous substances purple and Maritime activities orange , and the follow-up declarations burgundy. All indicators on eutrophication and hazardous substances are also relevant for the maritime segment of the Baltic Sea Action Plan.
One person or activity alone does not exert much pressure on the environment, but when scaled up the impact of many humans and their activities may have a considerable impact on marine species, and the different impacts act together on the environment. Additionally, single or cumulative impacts might trigger changes in the food web, with potential cascading effects further up or down in the food web.
Some species migrate far and encounter several different environments and different types of pressures during their life. Other species are local and cannot move, even if the local environment changes, and the water masses around them have travelled long distances and may include harmful substances from sources far away. The status of pressures, species and habitats is influenced by multiple connections to human activities. Understanding these linkages also helps reveal important knowledge gaps for setting management targets and helps us to better understand how human activities depend upon, and benefit from, marine ecosystem services.
Salmon eggs hatch in rivers with outflows into the Baltic Sea and spend the first parts of their lifecycle there, feeding on invertebrates and being dependent on the river water environment.
After one or two years they grow into so called smolt and migrate to the Baltic Sea, where they mature into adult salmon and remain for a few years. During this time, a salmon may migrate hundreds of kilometres and encounter many different environments before returning to the river to spawn. Its health and survival is influenced by food availability, fishing pressures, and potentially also underwater sound, marine litter and the quality of available food, and it is dependent as well on the environmental quality of their spawning rivers.
Photo: Esa Lehtinen. Bladderwrack is an important habitat-forming seaweed which colonises hard substrates in the Baltic Sea. In other seas it lives in the intertidal zone, but in the Baltic Sea it lives continuously submerged. Many small animals thrive among the structures formed by the seaweed, and it is a productive environment for small fish and benthic species. These small animals are also important for keeping the seaweed clean. The bladderwrack lives attached to the rock or other hard substrate all its life.
It is sensitive to the quality of the surrounding water and hence eutrophication or changes in the food web can be damaging. When food webs are disturbed, due to a decrease of big predatory fish for example, this may also affect the number of small animals among the seaweed and the quality of this habitat. Photo: Nicklas Wijkmark. Oxygen conditions in the deep water have been improved by a series of inflow events since the end of A series of smaller inflow events occurred in November , December , and March These interacted positively and reached the deep water of the central Baltic Sea for the first time since Naumann and Nausch A Major Baltic Inflow of moderate intensity also occurred between 14 and 22 November , followed by a third moderate Major Baltic Inflow between 31 January and 6 February Feistel et al.
These events caused intensified oxygen dynamics in the Arkona Basin, Bornholm Basin, and Eastern Gotland Basin, and the northern Baltic Proper was affected up to the end of As a result, the near bottom oxygen concentrations in the Bornholm deep ranged from 0. In the Gotland deep, where hydrogen sulphide was present in concentrations corresponding to a negative oxygen content of Maximum ventilation occurred in May The major Baltic inflow of December caused the Bornholm Basin to become fully ventilated.
Hydrogen sulphide was absent in the Gdansk Basin and Eastern Gotland Basin, and the former anoxic bottom water was replaced see Figure 1. The recent inflows have reduced the large pool of hydrogen sulphide that was present in the Eastern and Northern Gotland Basin.
However, oxygen concentrations in the deep water are near zero below the permanent stratification and conditions near the bottom have become increasingly anoxic during There are signs of increasing amounts of hydrogen sulphide in the Eastern and Northern Gotland Basins close to the bottom. In order to prevent further deterioration of the oxygen situation, with the formation of hydrogen sulphide concentrations, new major inflows are needed Hansson et al.
Within a changing climate this assumption will not hold, as the physical environment is also changing and will feedback upon the biogeochemical cycling, for example by enhancing growth and mineralization rates. Simulations also indicate that climate change may call for additional nutrient input reductions to reach the targets for good environmental status of the Baltic Sea Action Plan Meier et al.
Eutrophication causes many adverse effects on the marine environment which also reduce the welfare of citizens. The management of the Baltic Sea eutrophication has been advanced with the Baltic Sea Action Plan HELCOM , which includes a complete management cycle aiming for specified improved conditions in the Baltic Sea, based on the best available scientific information and a model-based decision support system.
Core indicators with associated threshold values representing good status with regard to eutrophication are established primarily from monitoring data, which is interpreted through statistical analysis. Drowning in fishing gear is believed to be a strong pressure on the populations of divers, grebes, cormorants, alcids, mergansers and ducks, especially in wintering areas with high densities of waterbirds. Diving waterbirds are especially vulnerable to being entangled in gill nets and other types of nets, but incidental by-catches also occur in other types of fishing gear, such as longlines and traps ICES b.
Beside the assessment of incidental by-catch, the hunting bag see Chapter 4. Drowning in fishing gear is believed to be the greatest source of mortality for harbour porpoise populations in the Baltic Sea, and is also a concern for seals Core indicator report: HELCOM ae.
Incidental by-catches of harbour porpoise in the Kattegat and Belts Seas were calculated at to animals in , based primarily on information from CCTV cameras on commercial vessels in combination with data on fishing effort ICES e.
The numbers are however associated with high uncertainties, concerning both incidental by-catch numbers and estimates of fishing effort. Documentation of incidental by-catch of harbour porpoise in the Baltic Proper is only fragmented, typically amounting to a few animals per year from the countries reporting. Based on interviews with fishermen from Sweden, Finland and Estonia, and accounting for the variability in seal abundance and fishing effort, and also for underreporting, the annual incidental by-catch of grey seals in trap nets and gill nets in these countries were estimated at around 2 to 2 individual seals in Vanhatalo et al.
Population trends and abundance of seals : In order to have good status the population size needs to be above the limit reference level 10 individuals , and the species specific growth rate needs to be achieved.
Seals are counted as the numbers of hauled-out individuals during moult. Distribution of seals : Considering the occurrence at haul-out sites and the range of seals at sea, good status is achieved when the distribution of the species is close to pristine condition. If pristine conditions cannot be achieved due to irreversible long-term environmental changes, then good status is achieved when all currently available haul-out sites are occupied.
Nutritional status of seals : The core indicator is applied on grey seal, and evaluates the blubber thickness of a specimen of the population in relation to a defined minimum threshold value. Reproductive status : Measures the proportion of pregnant adult grey seal females over the age of 6 years during July to February in relation to a minimum threshold value.
Further, HELCOM is developing indicators on harbour porpoise abundance and distribution and number of drowned animals caught in fishing gear but at present there are no defined threshold levels against which the status can be assessed Box 5. HELCOM is also aiming to develop health indicators for mammals, based on lung lesions caused by parasites and bacteria in harbour porpoise and harbour seals, and infections and ulcerations to the small intestine for grey seals.
More details on the core indicator concepts and how threshold values have been defined can be found in the core indicator report. Historically, eel Anguilla anguilla has been a common species across the Baltic Sea, occurring even in the far north.
The main concern regarding eel is its sharply decreased recruitment since the s Moriarty and Dekker , ICES A decreasing trend has probably been present even longer Dekker and Beaulaton The cause of recent changes may be a combination of factors such as overfishing, inland habitat loss and degradation, mortality in hydropower turbines, contaminants, parasites and climatic changes in the spawning area Moriarty and Dekker , ICES d. In the Baltic Sea, there is a decreasing number of licensed fishermen targeting eel, and there have been efforts to ban recreational fishing and to decrease the number of licensed fishers ICES d.
The status of the eel stock has been poorly documented until recently, with incomplete catch statistic being one issue. Indications are that the eel in the Baltic Sea constitutes about a quarter of the total population of European eel today. The required minimum protection has not yet been achieved, and although eel management plans are being established on national level, no joint management and assessment actions have been achieved.
The Baltic Sea impact index uses sensitivity scores based on a regional scale expert survey in order to cover a broad range of topics in a similar way and makes use of existing expertise on the different ways in which pressures may impact the environment. Dredging activities bury seagrass and consequently have a direct impact. Some antifouling additives from ship coating reduces the photosynthetic efficiency of seagrass. The dredging effects caused by fisheries activities may lead to decline of blue mussel by removal of species and abrasion of the seabed.
The following activities were considered in the assessment as causing loss of seabed: construction at sea and on the shoreline also including cables and pipelines, marinas and harbours, land claim, and mariculture , sand and gravel extraction, dredging, and disposal of dredged matter Figure 4. The same activities as in the assessment of physical loss were considered in the assessment as causing physical disturbance acting via the pressures of siltation, smothering, and abrasion , and in addition shipping and trawling were included as potentially causing physical disturbance Figure 4.
The potential extent of loss and disturbance to the seabed was estimated by identifying the spatial distribution of human activities exerting these pressures. The extent of pressures was estimated based on the information from the literature, and the data sets were aggregated into two layers representing physical loss and physical disturbance, respectively.
The aggregated layers were also compared with information on the spatial distribution of broad benthic habitat types, in order to estimate the potentially lost and disturbed area of benthic habitats Supplementary report: HELCOM D.
Therefore the potential loss and disturbance can be underestimated in some sub-basins due to lack of data of specific pressures. It has been agreed to further consider the application of e. Cod is mainly fished by demersal trawls reaching the seabed.
Pelagic commercial species are almost exclusively sprat and herring, and are mainly fished by pelagic trawls, in the water column. Salmon is caught by long lines during its feeding stage in the sea, or by trap nets or gill nets during their spawning run, and salmon fishing is also sometimes allowed in river mouths.
Due to a combination of tidal and meteorological conditions or uncharted or moving obstructions on the sea bottom and sand migration the sea level may decrease significantly. In the Danish Straits, the water level can be as much as 2 metres less than charted.
Historically, extreme ranges have been recorded of up to 4. Ice conditions can be a serious threat to navigation in certain areas during the period from November to May, especially in the eastern part of the Baltic Sea. The ice conditions vary greatly from year to year, see Chapter 5. Land rise is prevailing in many parts of the Baltic Sea.
Its greatest influence on the water depth is experienced in the northern parts of the Baltic Sea, e. That could be more than 0. In winter conditions the ship reporting systems and national VTS services provide information on way points and contact information of icebreakers for ships sailing in the area.
Information about operational icebreaking services in the Baltic Sea area can be obtained from the icebreaking Service provided by each coastal state:. See list of icebreaking information services. Information issued by the respective Administrations can be found on the common website www. This applies to the hull structure material, deck equipment anchor handling and mooring, towing and cargo handling , the main engine cooling system, and the material of the propeller including its sufficient immersion to reduce interaction with ice.
The stability of ships at low air temperatures under open water conditions should be sufficient taking into account the probability and the danger of ice accretion. The responsible Administrations may set operational instructions for ships sailing in ice-covered waters. See list of national ice services. The Authorities and Administrations of countries around the Baltic Sea may set traffic restrictions for the safety of vessels sailing in ice conditions.
Adequate ice strengthening is required for ships sailing in ice conditions. Even more stringent traffic restrictions than required by ice strengthening may be applied for operational reasons.
The equivalence of the ice classes of different Classification Societies with the Finnish-Swedish Ice Class Rules is based on a comparison of hull structural requirements. Equivalence is assessed based on the principle that the hull structural strength given by the rules of a classification society is to a similar standard as the hull structural strength obtained by applying the Finnish-Swedish Ice Class Rules.
The requirements of the Finnish-Swedish Ice Class Rules regarding the power of the main engines should also be met. See list of equivalence of ice classification rules. The normally expected dates for traffic restrictions due to ice, on the Swedish side of the Gulf of Bothnia, for various ice and tonnage classes. See list of normally expected dates for traffic restrictions due to ice.
VTS centres are established in several parts of the Baltic Sea. They monitor the traffic by different means such as AIS, radar, infrared sensor systems etc.
VTS centres give guidance to support the on board navigation. Some VTS centres in territorial waters as e. Continuous VHF listening watch must be kept on the relevant frequencies.
VTS centres at some coasts and ports in the Baltic Sea area require vessels to make contact when in transit through the area controlled by the VTS, additionally some countries recommend vessels to make contact with VTS centres whilst transiting the respective exclusive economic zone, including vessels that do not intend to call at the port.
Detailed information is provided in relevant nautical publications, see Chapter 0. Detailed information can be found in relevant nautical publications, see Chapter 0. See list of VTS centres. Deep-sea pilotage helps to enhance the safety of navigation and prevention of pollution of the marine environment, in particular to reduce the risks resulting from higher traffic densities of vessels carrying dangerous or noxious cargoes.
The presence of a deep-sea pilot on board strengthens a vessel's navigational team and improves the ability to carry out emergency measures in case of incidents. One decade later, 3. By , 48, km 2 or The protected areas include Nature sites, Ramsar sites, and biosphere sites. About In the early Middle Ages, the sea hosted several trade empires, built mainly by the Norse merchants.
The period of Norse dominance is referred to as Viking Age. Between the 8th and 14th centuries, piracy characterized the Baltic Sea, especially regions near Prussia and Pomerania.
Settlers were also drawn from Denmark, Netherlands, and Scotland. By the 18th century, Russia controlled much of the sea. As a result, Peter the Great founded St. Petersburg as his new capital. World War I was also fought in some parts of the Baltic Sea. But, at the end of World War II, the sea became a dumping site for chemical weapons, raising environmental concerns. Nine countries border the Baltic Sea, while the drainage basin includes five more countries: Czech Republic , Belarus , Ukraine , Slovakia , and Norway.
The rest of the land within the Baltic Sea drainage basin is home to 85 million people. Saint Petersburg is the largest coastal city, with a population of about 5. Stockholm, Riga, and Helsinki each have a population of at least , people.
The Baltic Sea has been an important waterway since ancient times. Norse merchants established several trade empires and controlled trade activities in and around the sea for centuries. However, recent developments around the Baltic Sea have further facilitated trade between the bordering countries and the rest of the world.
It is the main trade route for Russian oil export. Shipbuilding is also a major activity around the Baltic Sea.
Besides shipbuilding, tourism is also a major source of income for countries bordering the Baltic Sea. All the countries surrounding the sea have piers and resorts. However, environmental quality discourages some tourists from visiting the resort areas. John Misachi February 4 in Bodies of Water.
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