Marine

We depend on oceans for the food we eat, the climate we live in, and the air we breathe. They sustain the world around us. In the Baltic, the sea’s unique ecosystem provides food, livelihood, and cultural identity for the people living in the region. Yet, human activity has officially pushed the sea to its limits.

Why are we concered?

Photo: © Dorian Mongel

The Baltic is deteriorating

Overfished, polluted, taken for granted, and much more fragile and complex than we once thought, the Baltic Sea is fast deteriorating. This degradation threatens marine ecosystems and species. It also impacts our own well-being and that of future generations.

Failing governance and management

Like many of the world’s seascapes, the Baltic Sea is multi-functional. Sectors such as fisheries, tourism, shipping and renewable energy compete with nature and communities for the sea area. Yet governance and management structures are failing to safeguard natural resources. An improved system for the 21st century needs to combine stability, flexibility, and responsiveness to the inevitable changes in natural ecosystems. Humans must be seen and treated as an integrated part of the ecosystem.

Solutions

Photo: © Jonathan Kemper

Reformed marine policy and practice

The Baltic Sea needs ecosystem-based management and planning of marine activities to ensure the recovery of species and habitats and safeguard the sea's ability to respond to climate change. Ecosystem-based management is a process that combines biological, social, and economic factors into a comprehensive strategy aimed at protecting and enhancing the sustainability, diversity, and productivity of natural resources. More protective measures to restore fish stocks can include Remote Electronic Monitoring to secure effective fisheries control, the mandatory use of selective gears, and better implementation of the Landing Obligation, as well as to allocate fishing quotas to fisheries with the least environmental impact.

Restoration of species and habitats

With an ever-increasing risk of ecosystem collapse, ecosystem restoration is needed now more than ever. A growing body of evidence shows that nature contributes to our overall well-being and provides significant socio-economic benefits, including sustainable jobs and ecotourism opportunities. Protecting and restoring ecosystems is fundamental to tackling the twin crisis of biodiversity loss and climate change and contributes to overall human well-being and provides socio-economic benefits. Fish stocks are an integral part of the marine ecosystem but unfortunately, many Baltic fish populations are on a downward spiral with several stocks near collapse. If we want to have a sustainable fishing industry and healthy marine ecosystems in the Baltic we must restore fish stocks to a healthy state.

What is the WWF Baltic Programme doing?

By 2030, the Baltic Sea should be fully managed via a coherent network of transboundary, ecosystem-based maritime spatial plans representing marine protected areas covering 30% of the sea, with 10% of the protected area strictly protected.

Supporting synergies between marine activities and environmental legislation

To tackle the challenges of our time, the WWF Baltic Programme focuses on influencing and strengthening key policies and governance such as the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan and EU Marine directives. To do this we act as a watchdog for achieving the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan targets. We support the implementation of the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive; the redirection of harmful subsidies; and an ecosystem-based approach to maritime spatial planning as a contribution to achieving good environmental status in the Baltic Sea. We also work for the effective implementation of the EU Common Fisheries Policy and the Birds and Habitats Directives, to ensure recovered fish stocks and adequate protection of species and habitats in the Baltic Sea.

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Photo: © Manuel Keller

Pushing for sustainable, ecosystem-based management of the sea

WWF Baltic believes that Ecosystem-Based Management of marine fisheries provides a framework for humanity to secure the ongoing production of food resources while enabling these ecosystems to continue to thrive and evolve. We work to ensure Baltic Sea coastal countries are applying the ecosystem-based management approach in national marine spatial plans meaning the plans are holistic, adaptive, and enforced. Baltic Sea coastal countries have committed to an effectively managed, monitored, and ecologically coherent network of MPAs covering 30% of the Baltic Sea by 2030 and include 10% strictly protected areas that are fully protected from direct harmful human activities.

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Photo: © Marek Piwnicki

Advocating for sustainable fisheries

We support the WWF European Policy Office on input to the Common Fisheries Policy, to improve synergies between fisheries and environmental legislation. We work to reduce overfishing, and the use of destructive gear, and improve the traceability of fish products to ensure they are sustainably caught. Many key Baltic fish stocks (such as cod, salmon, herring and sprat) are degraded, and the remaining fish should only be harvested legally and at levels that can guarantee the recovery of their populations. Destructive fishing gear must be banned from specific Marine Protected Areas and other defined sensitive areas to support this recovery.

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Promote restoration of coastal and marine ecosystems

We work to promote the restoration of important coastal (wetlands, seagrass, and reefs) ecosystems and the implementation of a strong EU nature restoration law in the Baltic Sea region.

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