PA 2: To preserve natural zones and biodiversity, including fisheries

PA 2: To preserve natural zones and biodiversity, including fisheries

Priority Area 2 intends to foster close links between the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region and the political and substantial developments taking place under the HELCOM umbrella with regard to natural zones and biodiversity. As such, HELCOM has an important role as implementing organisation for all the Horizontal Actions and Flagship Projects within this Area. The Priority Area Coordinator organised a late kick-off meeting for the Area in order to be able to take into consideration the outcomes of the HELCOM Moscow Ministerial Meeting in May 2010 – the kick-off meeting was held on 7 October 2010 and brought together Managing Authorities, representatives from Baltic Sea riparian countries and other relevant stakeholders to introduce the Flagship Projects’ Leaders to funding authorities, settle on a common direction and establish links among the various actors.

A number of general activities have been launched by the PAC, including close collaboration with the BONUS Joint Baltic Sea Research and Development Programme. It is expected that the BONUS Strategic Research Agenda 2012-13 will include issues supporting the implementation of the Priority Area, for instance concerning the spatial aspects of biodiversity. The PAC has also established a close exchange with Priority Areas 1 (eutrophication), 4 (clean shipping) and 9 (agriculture, forestry and fisheries) to facilitate knowledge transfers and avoid duplication of work.

Actions:

Strategic actions:

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  “Implement the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan”. This document contains a specific section on biodiversity and nature conservation, as well as a section and special roadmap on maritime traffic addressing the introduction of alien species via ships’ ballast water and sediments. This is closely related to implementation and development of EU policies, including the Common Fisheries Policy (where the Commission is responsible for taking the necessary policy initiatives).
  

Several projects contribute to achieving implementation of the BSAP. The aim of the HELCOM project ‘Red List of Species and Habitats/Biotopes, 2008-12’, for instance, is to prepare a complete HELCOM Red List of biotopes and species under water and swimming on water. With regard to fish and lamprey species, this means updating the existing HELCOM Red List (BSEP 109). The underwater part of the HELCOM Red List of Baltic Sea biotopes and biotope complexes (BSEP 75) will also be updated. The output of the project will also include check-lists of species in the Baltic Sea, and Species Information Sheets. The project aims at delivering these products in time for the 2013 HELCOM Ministerial Meeting. The assessments will be carried out by expert teams, which were set up for each of the species groups and for the biotopes during the 2009–10 period.

The MARMONI Project, which also has a close link to HELCOM work, aims at developing concepts for assessing the conservation status of marine biodiversity, including species and habitats and impacts of various human activities, while the BONUS+ Project BaltGene assesses the genetic diversity situation of several key Baltic Sea species and identifies the most significant pressures.

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  “Reduce the negative effects of fishing on the Baltic ecosystem”. In addition to implementing regulations and measures taken at EU level to minimise the impacts of fishing activities on marine ecosystems, such as the Pingers Regulation¹² and certain technical measures, Member States can adopt national measures to minimise the effect of fishing on the marine ecosystems within their territorial waters and for fishing vessels flying their flag, that are in line with, or more stringent than, the existing Community legislation. This should be especially stressed for the protection of the critically endangered Baltic harbour porpoise population.
  

The Baltic Fisheries/Environmental Forum responsible for implementing the relevant aspects of the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan Fish/Fisheries met twice in 2010, and has amongst other things worked on a draft project proposal for the development of fisheries measures in Marine Protected Areas in the Baltic Sea, to ensure that the conservation objectives are met. The Forum also followed the implementation of the project aimed at establishing an overview of the state of salmon (Salmo salar) and sea trout (Salmo trutta) populations in rivers flowing to the Baltic Sea (HELCOM SALAR project) and initiated cooperation with the ICES on collecting and assessing background scientific information on the status of eel and flatfish populations in the Baltic Sea.¹³

Over the last year, good cooperation with HELCOM and the ASCOBANS Jastarnia Group, a group of experts from the environment and fisheries sectors of the countries surrounding the Baltic Sea, has been established. This PA 2 network has discussed the progress made as well as further implementation priorities for the Jastarnia Recovery Plan for the Baltic Harbour Porpoise.

Flagship Projects (as examples):

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  2.1. “Create marine protected areas”. The Birds¹⁴ and Habitats Directives¹⁵ (Natura 2000 network), as well as HELCOM, call for Member States to complete the designation of a network of marine protected areas in the Baltic Sea. To be truly efficient, these areas need adopted and implemented management plans that correspond to the threats towards the species or habitat they are created to protect. The designation of the Natura 2000 network in the Baltic Sea should also be taken into account in the context of maritime spatial planning which can contribute to facilitating the coordination of human activities in the marine areas. Coordination is also needed with measures under the Common Fisheries Policy. (Lead: Germany; Deadline for progress review: to be determined) FAST TRACK.
  

Another encouraging example of rapid development within this field is the project “Implementation of Natura 2000 in Estonian marine areas: site selection, designation and protection measures – ESTMAR” implemented by the Estonian Marine Institute and other Estonian bodies. Moreover, Germany will initiate an INTERREG project proposal ‘MareCap’ that will be submitted for the 4th Call of the Baltic Sea Region Programme. The overall objective of the project will be to contribute to the sustainable use of marine resources by improving the management and surveillance of MPAs, demonstrating the economic potential of implemented management plans and linking the MPA assessment to the new approach of Good Environmental Status according to the MSFD. The MareCap Project should be a demonstration project which will bridge some of the gaps between existing guidelines, operational management and control of MPAs and make substantial progress towards an improved management of Baltic Sea MPAs.

Another project proposal which addresses the aspect of fish migration – and thereby Flagship Project 2.3 – has been initiated, namely ‘Living Baltic Sea – Improving fish migration in the Baltic Region’. It aims at the establishment of measures to facilitate migration and reproduction of migratory fish species. Focusing on the poor condition of particularly migratory fish stocks in the Baltic Sea Region, the project will address the general challenges as well as conduct the main project activities aiming at developing a regional overview of fish populations in the Baltic Sea Region and of the migratory behaviour of specific fish species such as eel.

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  2.2. “Restrict the introduction of new alien species by ships” principally through the enforcement of the international Ballast Water Management Convention and by means such as onboard treatment and the installation of ballast water reception facilities in ports with large traffic flows in and out of the Baltic Sea. In the Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP), HELCOM countries agreed to ratify the Convention, possibly by 2010, at the latest 2013. A HELCOM Roadmap has been agreed, focusing on ballast water management for inner Baltic voyages. Furthermore, HELCOM/OSPAR¹⁶ guidelines on the voluntary interim application of ballast water exchange standards should be implemented. Actions should build on the new knowledge of the issue arising from ongoing research and also promote further innovative approaches by industry and research institutes. (Lead: HELCOM, Sweden and Germany; Deadline for progress review: to be determined).
  

The BAZOOKA project, which is funded by the Baltic Organisations Network to fund Science EEIG, BONUS and the Swedish Research Council for Environment, Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning, FORMAS, focuses on the restriction of alien species. Although more than 100 invasive species have been recorded in the Baltic, and their impact on the ecosystem is being widely disputed, convincing scientific evidence is scarce. The BAZOOKA project tests the possible cascading effect of alien comb jelly on the plankton food web in the Baltic – predation on cod eggs and larvae, depletion of plankton-eating fish food resources, and changes in water clarity eventually leading to a regime shift of the whole system. By using models, experiments and field studies, the project will quantify the ecosystem consequences of Mnemiopsis (comb jelly) in the pelagic food web, from microbes to gelatinous top predators. Interactions and cascading effects will be quantified within natural spatial (Baltic proper, Bothnian Sea, Bothnian Bay) and environmental (oxygen, temperature, salinity, light, N, P) gradients. The project will monitor Mnemiopsis synchronically with environmental and biological parameters relevant for other trophic levels. State-of-the-art techniques will be applied in field, laboratory and modelling studies.

The altered pelagic community balance in the Baltic may have severe consequences for biodiversity. In 2010 the monitoring of Mnemiopsis was completed with preliminary results showing that currently it is not widely spread in the Baltic. However, this may well change in the future given its living capabilities and growth that now have been substantiated through microcosm experiments. The BAZOOCA project will be running until September 2011. During the last year of implementation the data on the distribution of gelatinous predators will be summarised, the potential effects of water transparency on food competition between fish and jellyfish will be established, and the cascading effect of Mnemiopsis on the lower trophic levels will be assessed. Added together, this information will enable an overview of the negative effect of jellyfish on the Baltic Sea ecosystem.

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  2.3. “Establish measures to facilitate migration and reproduction of migratory fish species”, on the basis of a classification and inventory of rivers with historic and existing migratory fish species such as eel and salmon as agreed in the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP). Under the European Fisheries Fund (EFF) Operational Programmes, some EU Member States already contribute to this objective by applying measures aimed at protecting aquatic fauna and flora, in particular the rehabilitation of inland waters, including migration routes. The national eel management plans are also expected to contribute to the restocking of this species. (Lead: HELCOM and Germany; Deadline for progress review: to be determined).
  

The major outcome of the project will be recommendations and prioritisation of measures in the rivers that are needed for improving the status of salmon and sea trout populations. Other outcomes are a GIS map on Baltic salmon rivers and a database on Baltic salmon and sea trout populations as well as individual descriptions of salmon and sea trout rivers. The project report will identify original salmon and sea trout populations that should be the focus of immediate and effective conservation measures. It will also identify potential populations and rivers for re-establishment and measures for the restoration of river habitats and migratory routes. Furthermore, it will recommend that restoration and development plans be prepared for identified salmon and sea trout populations/rivers in a second phase project. The sea trout populations in the Baltic rivers have as yet not been the subject of a common project.

The SALAR Project is groundbreaking in that it offers a holistic view on the state of salmon and sea trout in the Baltic rivers, and identifies the measures needed for their recovery and development. This will allow for the development of international and national programmes for the funding and systematic realisation of these actions. The Contracting Parties to HELCOM will use the results of the project as a basis when implementing the actions of the HELCOM BSAP concerning salmonids and other actions for the recovery and development of salmon and sea trout populations.

HELCOM has taken note of the outcome of the SALAR Project on Salmon and Sea Trout populations in rivers flowing to the Baltic Sea and approved the draft Final Report. The draft HELCOM Recommendation based on this Report was considered and supported in principle – the aim is to have a final adoption at the HELCOM Heads of Delegations meeting in June 2011.

A new project proposal on developing solutions will be submitted for the 4th Call of the BSR Programme. The main activities planned aim at developing a regional overview of fish populations in the BSR, migratory behaviour of specific fish species such as eel, and the impact of environmental problems in the transition zone between the North Sea and Baltic Sea Regions.

The PREHAB project also contributes to meeting the objectives of this Flagship Project by developing powerful, precise and cost-efficient methods for spatial prediction of the biological properties of coastal underwater habitats, and combines predictive models and scenarios of human pressures to assess effects on coastal biodiversity. A set of models developed by PREHAB in 2010 forms a solid basis for designing recommendations about predictive mapping and subsequent spatial planning in the Baltic Sea. The models cover five case study areas, including some 80 response variables (including fish, macro vegetation, invertebrates, and ecosystem services) and 50 environmental predictors. Finalising the project and the methodology for spatial prediction of bottom habitats will be further refined. The development and testing of a GIS-based tool for assessing ecosystem goods and services, including a WTP-based economic valuation, will be finalised and utilised for case-specific integrated assessments of various planning scenarios.