EG Coastal Fish
HELCOM Expert Group on Coastal Fish
The purpose of the HELCOM Expert Group on Coastal Fish (EG Coastal Fish) is to support the implementation of the Helsinki Convention, including its Baltic Sea Action Plan, and, for those Contracting Parties being EU members, relevant EU legislation (e.g. Habitats Directive and Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region (EUSBSR), etc.).
EG Coastal Fish aims to support ecosystem-based management of coastal fish communities in the Baltic Sea coastal countries through further developing regionally harmonised monitoring and assessment methodologies, conducting harmonised indicator-based status assessments of coastal fish, and by proposing ecosystem-based management measures to support and restore coastal fish communities. In addition, EG Coastal fish serves as a Baltic-wide forum for advancing and disseminating national and regional research projects related to coastal fish.
Coastal fish communities are important components of the Baltic Sea ecosystems, and many species of coastal fish are of a high socio-economic value for coastal societies through small-scale coastal fisheries, recreational fishing as well as cultural value. The status of coastal fish communities serves as an indicator of coastal ecosystem health, reflecting pressures like eutrophication, fishing, and degradation of coastal habitats. The structure of coastal fish communities is also dependent on climate change impacts and the level of natural predation. Species of coastal fish might modify other ecosystem components through ecological interactions. Given the dramatic changes in Baltic Sea ecosystems and coastal fish communities during the last decades, attention and focus should be devoted to this component of the ecosystem.
EG Coastal Fish builds on the Project for Baltic-wide assessment of coastal fish communities in support of an ecosystem-based management (HELCOM FISH-PRO III) which was implemented from 2018 to 2023.
Documents
Contacts
Jens Olsson
Chair of EG Coastal Fish
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
jens.olsson@slu.se
Lena Avellan
Professional Secretary
HELCOM Secretariat
lena.avellan@helcom.fi
Florent Nicolas
Associate Professional Secretary
HELCOM Secretariat
florent.nicolas@helcom.fi
