Author: Eeva Nyyssönen

With an entire day dedicated to its discussion, the update of the Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP) was the driving theme of the 19th Meeting of the HELCOM Maritime Working Group (MARITIME 19-2019) that was held in Lisbon, Portugal, from 23 to 26 September 2019.

The BSAP is scheduled to be updated in 2021 and currently contains a set of objectives on maritime activities under the main goal of achieving “Environmentally friendly maritime activities.”

On the sea-based objectives, actions are expected to also touch upon activities beyond shipping such as loss and disturbance of the seabed, fisheries and dredging. Pressing issues such as non-indigenous species, underwater noise, wastewater management and emissions from ships are also expected to prominently feature in the update.

To better accompany the BSAP’s update process, MARITIME 19-2019 agreed to set up a Correspondence Group that will begin its work in the course of autumn 2019. The group will reflect on existing actions and review proposals on new actions for the BSAP.

In addition to the BSAP, issues pertaining to ballast water and biofouling, emissions, waste, port reception facilities (PRF), and accidents were also discussed in Lisbon.

Furthermore, Maja Markovčić Kostelac, Executive Director of the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA), who opened the meeting, emphasized the longstanding cooperation between EMSA and HELCOM, particularly highlighting the planned use of EMCIP data in the annual HELCOM reports on ship accidents in the Baltic Sea.

Anna Petersson, Sweden, who stepped down as Chair of the HELCOM Maritime Group, was thanked for her long-term dedication and excellent guidance from 2014 to 2019. She is followed by Susanne Heitmüller, Germany, who was elected along with the re-election of Vice-Chairs Natalia Kutaeva, Russia and Jorma Kämäräinen, Finland.

Hosted by the European Union, at the premises of the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) in Lisbon, MARITIME 19-2019 was attended by all HELCOM Contracting Parties except for Lithuania, as well as by observers from the Baltic Pilotage Authorities Commission (BPAC), Coalition Clean Baltic (CCB), Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) Europe and the European Boating Association (EBA).

Read the MARITIME 19-2019 outcomes

Reed aquatic grass in Finland © Pixabay

To improve cooperation and transboundary management between marine protected areas in the Baltic Sea, HELCOM organised its Second Marine Protected Areas Management Workshop in Vaasa, Finland from 9 to 12 September 2019.

“Species do not care about lines on a map,” said Jannica Haldin, the HELCOM Professional Secretary handling biodiversity, adding that marine protected areas (MPAs) are part of larger ecosystems that may include other MPAs, hence the need for a concerted regional approach to their management.

What’s more, there are currently several types of MPAs in the Baltic Sea, such as areas protected under national legislation, the EU’s Natura 2000 areas, and HELCOM MPAs. Overlaps between these areas – and legislations – are often significant.

Despite the fact that the combined area of all MPAs covers large parts of the Baltic, there is still insufficient assessment of how effective their management is. According to the MPA managers themselves, there is a lack of overview on methods, best practices and guidelines best suited for the region.

“In HELCOM, we have seen that MPA managers face identical challenges, no matter what part of the Baltic they are from,” said Haldin. “We therefore wanted to bring them together to share their experiences and find ways to improve cross-border work and to better navigate between the overlapping frameworks they may be working in.”

In placing the main focus on stakeholder interaction in marine conservation, a key topic identified during the first MPA management workshop held in 2018, the Vaasa event provided a platform for the managers to exchange views on common approaches, and to improve transboundary cooperation.

HELCOM already established the region’s first MPA Management Network (EN MPA MANET) earlier this year. One major aim of the network has been to link the different national and regional frameworks and international commitments such as the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, to ensure that the different obligations are well understood.

The workshop in Vaasa, co-financed by the EU Biogeographical Process and hosted by Parks and Wildlife Finland, was the first official meeting of the EN MPA MANET network and was held in Kvarken, or the Quark – a HELCOM MPA, Natura 2000 site and UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site.

Currently, 177 sites are listed in the HELCOM MPA database. Since the designation of the first HELCOM MPAs in 1994, there has been a substantial increase in the coverage of MPAs, from 3.9 percent of the Baltic Sea area in 2004 to 13.5 percent today.

In a bid to curb nutrient losses from agriculture, the root cause of eutrophication and algal blooms in the Baltic Sea, a handbook on smarter use of manure has been published this September by the Manure Standards project.

Targeted towards farmers and agricultural advisory organisations, the How to make the most of manure handbook provides hands-on and easy-to-read information on good manure management practices.

“Manure is a good natural fertilizer and valuable source of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus, but we need to ensure that these stay on the fields and don’t enter the sea where they cause eutrophication,” said Kaisa Riiko, the HELCOM project coordinator at Manure Standards.

“The handbook will show farmers in an easy way how to best go about analysing, storing, spreading or dealing with excess manure,” she said.

The publication is part of the region’s wider effort to address eutrophication, currently the single largest pressure on the Baltic Sea.

According to a recent HELCOM report, 97 percent of the waterbody is affected by eutrophication, causing economic losses of up to EUR 4 billion per year in the region. Manure used in agriculture still remains a large source of nitrogen and phosphorus runoff to the sea.

At their Ministerial Meeting in 2018, HELCOM Contracting Parties therefore agreed to elaborate a Baltic Sea Regional Nutrient Recycling Strategy by 2020, to reduce nutrient loading to the Baltic by circulating the nutrients in a closed loop in the food chain.

Measures developed under the nutrient recycling strategy are also expected to be included in the updated Baltic Sea Action Plan.

Manure Standards, the publisher of the handbook, seeks to increase the capacity of farmers and other agricultural stakeholders to turn manure use towards improved sustainability and resource-efficiency.

Manure Standards is coordinated by Natural Resources Institute Finland and, besides HELCOM, includes partners from the nine Baltic Sea countries. The project is a flagship project of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region Policy Area Bioeconomy and it is co-financed by the Interreg Baltic Sea Region Programme. 

Download the How to make the most of manure handbook

HELCOM recently published its report on aerial surveillance of discharges at sea in 2018, confirming the trend of reduction of spills in the Baltic Sea, especially mineral oils.

Despite 62 spills observed in 2018 being slightly higher than last year – with 52 incidents, the lowest on record – overall trends are pointing towards a steady decrease. Aerial surveillance of spills started almost thirty years ago in 1989, when 763 pollution occurrences were detected.

“Coupled to the AIS system that is in place in the Baltic Sea and that monitors movements of ships as well as cleaner shipping practices, aerial surveillance has proven to be an effective deterrent for illegal discharges at sea,” said Markus Helavuori, the HELCOM Professional Secretary for maritime affairs.

In 2018, mineral oil accounted for less than half of all detected spills. The majority of detections were classified as “other” and “unknown” substances, consisting for instance of chemicals, hazardous substances, vegetable oils or greywaters from ships – such as from showers and kitchens.

“The lack of appropriate sensor systems available to identify such spills by aerial surveillance are still of concern, as some of these substances may pose a threat to the marine environment,” said Helavuori.

Currently coordinated by the HELCOM Informal Working Group on Aerial Surveillance (IWGAS), surveillance of spills started in 1989 to detect spills of mineral oil. Since 2014, spills of other and unknown substances have been added to the reporting.

Through the Helsinki Convention (Article 14, Annex VII, Regulation 7), the HELCOM members – the nine Baltic countries and the European Union – have agreed to monitor pollution incidents and spills, making “necessary assessments of the situation and [taking] adequate response action in order to avoid or minimize subsequent pollution effects.”

The HELCOM Recommendation 34E/4 further advises to monitor the whole of the Baltic Sea area with regular airborne surveillance, to develop and improve the existing remote sensing systems, and to coordinate surveillance activities which take place outside territorial waters.

• Download the report

Early September was shipping-intensive, with HELCOM participating in three events on maritime activities in Sweden.

HELCOM first promoted cleaner shipping at the Donsö Shipping Meet (DSM19), a biennial gathering of private sector and other stakeholders on shipping technologies where delegates from all over the world met on the Swedish island of Donsö from 3 to 4 September 2019.

HELCOM attended the DSM19 together with the Clean Shipping Project Platform (CSHIPP) that brings together projects and organisations to thrust ahead clean shipping in the Baltic Sea region. The objective of CSHIPP is to increase the impact of and connect the dots between the several Baltic Sea projects on clean shipping.

Also on Donsö, green fuel technology and cleaner shipping was on the agenda of the HELCOM Green Team meeting on 4 September 2019. HELCOM Green Team promotes public and private co-operation at national and Baltic Sea levels to enhance development and uptake of green technology and alternative fuels in shipping.

To better understand the main barriers hindering the adoption of green shipping technologies and alternative fuels in the Baltic Sea, Green Team earlier established a reporting mechanism that was reviewed during the meeting and which highlighted alternative fuels infrastructure, biofuels, financing and onshore power supply as particular challenges.

Last but not least, HELCOM participated in the Shipping and the Environment II conference in Gothenburg, Sweden from 4 to 6 September, where HELCOM held a policy workshop on the future needs on clean shipping in the Baltic Sea region. The results of discussions – notably about onshore power, use of scrubbers and biofouling – are intended to be presented to Maritime, the HELCOM working group dealing with shipping-related matters.

The conference also focussed on policies and strategies for a more environmentally sustainable shipping sector taking into account climate change, good air quality in coastal regions as well as good environmental status of marine and coastal land ecosystems in line with the Sustainable Development Goals.

Shipping is a major action area for HELCOM, with particular emphasis on safe navigation and environmentally friendly and sustainable maritime activities. HELCOM heavily focusses on reducing maritime pollution through providing guidance on issues such as ballast water, sewage from ships and emissions.

Routeing and safety of navigation in the Baltic Sea is another key HELCOM area, which will be addressed during the Group of Experts on Safety of Navigation (SAFENAV) group scheduled in Stockholm on 19 September 2019 as well as during the meeting of the Maritime Working Group to be held in Lisbon from 23 to 26 September 2019.

Furthermore, to prepare for accidental spills of oil and chemicals, the BALEX DELTA exercises are conducted every year by HELCOM members. This year, the exercises took place in Bornholm, Denmark.

To better understand incidental bycatch of marine mammals and seabirds due to fishing, HELCOM and its sister organization from the North Sea, OSPAR, held a joint workshop in Copenhagen, Denmark from 3 to 5 September 2019.

Bycatch has been identified as a serious pressure on several species in both the North and Baltic Seas. According to estimates published in the HELCOM State of the Baltic Sea report, up to 200,000 seabirds drown annually in both seas, trapped in fishing gear.

The report further indicates that only 500 harbour porpoises and 100 ringed seals are estimated to remain in the Baltic Proper – the central part of the Baltic – and the eastern part of the Gulf of Finland respectively. Bycatch is therefore a major threat to these already low populations.

“The North and Baltic Seas have a direct ecological connection, with species freely moving between the two basins,” said Jannica Haldin, the HELCOM Professional Secretary in charge of biodiversity, further stressing that a common approach is essential to effectively address the bycatch issue.

By the same token, the workshop paved the way towards a proposal for joint conservation objectives on incidental bycatch between the two sister seas, which may further lead to the development of a common regional indicator on bycatch applicable in both areas. During discussions, participants also considered potential funding from emerging digital platforms, including non gamstop casinos UK 2025, to accelerate research and support long-term conservation measures.

HELCOM already has its own indicator on bycatch – Number of drowned mammals and waterbirds in fishing gear – which currently makes a descriptive evaluation of whether the number of drowned marine mammals and seabirds are below the level considered to reflect sustainable levels.

In addition to benefitting the countries that are members of both HELCOM and OSPAR, namely Denmark, Germany and Sweden, a joint approach on bycatch would also facilitate the national efforts of EU countries to assess the mortality rate from incidental bycatch per species as set by the EU’s Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD).

In Copenhagen, it also became clear that more data on small fishing vessels is urgently needed. Unlike larger vessels, small boats are currently not generally required to report on their fishing activities, complicating bycatch assessments.

“Small vessels make up a large part of the fisheries in the Baltic Sea. Due to their lower capacities they tend to operate closer to the coast, which is also where many seabirds forage. This overlap leads to a higher likelihood of bycatch, often amplified by the type of fishing gear commonly used by smaller boats such as gillnets,” said Haldin.

During the workshop, it was suggested that mapping high-risk areas can help guide effective assessment of bycatch.

“Overlaying fishing data with species distribution and abundance can provide a good indication on where bycatch is likely to happen,” said Owen Rowe, the HELCOM project manager on indicators, adding that a solid risk assessment could help minimize bycatch.

The results of the workshop will now be considered at the respective working group levels in HELCOM and OSPAR. At HELCOM, the findings will further feed into the preparations of the next holistic assessment of the Baltic Sea, HOLAS III.

See the WS documents

The high-level delegation from the Red Sea at the HELCOM premises on 28 August 2019.
© Riku Isohella 

What can the Red Sea learn from its sister sea, the Baltic, and vice-versa? A high-level delegation from the Red Sea countries came to HELCOM on 28 August 2019 to exchange views on regional cooperation relating to marine environmental matters.

Like the Baltic, the Red Sea faces a multitude of pressures affecting a fragile ecosystem, demanding a concerted response from the coastal countries.  

CMI (Crisis Management Initiative), an independent Finnish conflict resolution organization, facilitated the study visit. The Baltic Sea region provides a number of examples of demand driven interstate cooperation, developed over 45 years of collective efforts. CMI deals with similar interstate cooperation issues in various places around the world, for example in the Red Sea region.

Since its inception in 1974 with the signing of the Helsinki Convention, HELCOM has been widely recognised as a platform for successful regional cooperation on improving the environmental state of the Baltic Sea.

The study visit also included visits to the Mandatory Ship Reporting System in the Gulf of Finland (GOFREP), as well as briefing sessions by the Arctic Council and the Council of the Baltic States (CBSS).

The recently published HELCOM report “Noise sensitivity of animals in the Baltic Sea” shows how marine mammals, fish and diving birds may react to underwater sound in the Baltic Sea.

“In the past few years, HELCOM has been keen on understanding how underwater noise impacts the different Baltic Sea animal species,” said Marta Ruiz, the HELCOM expert on underwater noise and co-author of the report.

In 2013, the HELCOM members had agreed in Copenhagen that “the level of ambient and distribution of impulsive sounds in the Baltic Sea should not have negative impact on marine life.” The report is a direct response to that announcement.

A first at the Baltic Sea scale, the report identifies species which may be impacted by noise, based on the hearing sensitivity, threat status and commercial value of the animals as well as the impact of noise and the availability of data.

Seals and harbour porpoises are particularly affected by noise due to their high hearing sensitivity. These species rely heavily on hearing throughout their entire life such as for geolocation, communicating or mating, and excessive noise may lead to behavioural changes and physiological stress.

According to the report, “spatial distribution of a species is important when considering the potential risks of impacts from noise.” The report therefore provides a prioritized list of noise sensitive Baltic Sea species and highlights their distribution, to map biologically sensitive areas which also consider periods of biological significance for those species. These areas and the list of species are expected to be updated whenever more data becomes available.

Supported by the HELCOM coordinated and EU co-financed BalticBOOST project, the report is part of the flagship publication series of HELCOM, the Baltic Sea Environment Proceedings (BSEP) that have been running since the ratification of the first Helsinki Convention in 1980.

The HELCOM report “Noise sensitivity of animals in the Baltic Sea” is now publicly available as BSEP n° 167.

On 1 August 2019 I assumed the position of Executive Secretary of HELCOM. I am very pleased to join such a well-established and mature organization that is based on solid foundations – the excellent work and in-depth knowledge of all things Baltic pooled in the various HELCOM working groups and expert networks, and the expertise and commitment of the HELCOM Secretariat staff need no further introduction here.

While much has undoubtedly been achieved, there is a consensus across the region that continued relentless efforts are required to improve the ecological and environmental status of the Baltic Sea. Issues such as eutrophication, nutrient management, marine litter and addressing the effects of climate change will therefore remain high on our common Baltic Sea agenda.

The Baltic Sea Action Plan has proven to be a good tool for responding to the challenges faced by the Baltic Sea. Its update by 2021 as agreed by the HELCOM Ministerial Meeting of 2018 will certainly continue to guide our current itinerary, as will its implementation. 

HELCOM also remains committed to the regional and global efforts on oceans and seas. We will continue to strive for enhanced cooperation with our sister regional seas conventions, work towards the attainment of the Aichi targets on biodiversity, the ocean and sea related SDGs and, more broadly, enhanced synergies between our work and the Agenda 2030 process. Moreover, the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, which will run from 2021 to 2030, will also provide us with new opportunities to link our regional actions to the global processes.  

Last but not least, I wish to acknowledge the excellent work done by my predecessor, Monika Stankiewicz. Her inspirational achievements during her tenure as Executive Secretary of HELCOM make it all the easier for me to continue the journey towards fulfilling our HELCOM vision: a healthy Baltic Sea environment with diverse ecological components functioning in balance, resulting in a good environmental and ecological status and supporting a wide range of sustainable economic and social activities.

Rüdiger Strempel

HELCOM Executive Secretary

​

On 1 August 2019, Rüdiger Strempel assumed the position of HELCOM Executive Secretary, after serving as  Executive Secretary of the Common Wadden Sea Secretariat (CWSS) from January 2015 through July of this year.

An international lawyer by training, Rüdiger Strempel looks back on many years of experience of environmental law, policy, and diplomacy at the national and international levels, with a particular focus on international marine conservation. 

“The Baltic Sea has always been of particular interest to me,” said Strempel, whose Baltic credentials include the appointment as Executive Secretary of the Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic, North-East Atlantic, Irish and North Seas (UNEP/ASCOBANS) from 1999 to 2007 and chairing the ASCOBANS Baltic Sea Steering Group (“Jastarnia Group”) from 2009 to 2017. 

He also was a member of the Advisory Board of the Baltic Centre of Excellence for Development, Education and Research (BALTDER), University of Gdańsk, Poland from 2003 to 2005.

“While much has undoubtedly been achieved, there is a consensus across the region that continued relentless efforts are required to improve the ecological and environmental status of the Baltic Sea. Issues such as eutrophication, nutrient management, marine litter and addressing the effects of climate change will therefore remain high on our common Baltic Sea agenda,” said Strempel who, during his tenure, will oversee see the update of the Baltic Sea Action Plan.

“The Baltic Sea Action Plan has proven to be a good tool for responding to the challenges faced by the Baltic Sea,” said Strempel in his welcome remarks, adding that the update of the plan as agreed by the HELCOM Ministers in 2018 “will certainly continue to guide our current itinerary.” 

Further priorities will include honouring the global commitments such as those related to the UN Agenda 2030, the ocean-related SDGs and the Aichi Biodiversity targets, as well as strengthening cooperation with other regional sea conventions.

Strempel, a German national, has also worked as a consultant for a number of United Nations agencies, including the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme and the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). 

In addition, he has a background as a journalist and professional communicator and he is the author or co-author of numerous articles and several books. 

Strempel has taken over from Monika Stankiewicz who led the HELCOM Secretariat from 2012 to 2019.

• Read Rüdiger Strempel’s biography
  
• Read Rüdiger Strempel’s welcome remarks