Author: Eeva Nyyssönen

IWGAS-2019 participants in front of the new Estonian surveillance plane in Tallinn on 21 March 2019. The plane is used to track both accidental spills and illegal discharges at sea. © HELCOMImproving surveillance of spills and discharges at sea was a main subject at the Annual Meeting of the HELCOM Informal Working Group on Aerial Surveillance (IWGAS 2019) that was held in Tallinn, Estonia from 20 to 21 March 2019.In Tallinn, the HELCOM members presented their respective national surveillance activities and finalised their work on the 2018 edition of the HELCOM Annual report on discharges observed during aerial surveillance in the Baltic Sea.To ensure a more efficient surveillance of the Baltic Sea, IWGAS 2019 notably agreed to update the coverage requirements of satellite imagery. Aerial surveillance is key for responding to discharges at sea of hazardous substances such as oil or chemicals, regardless of being accidental or intentional.“Aerial surveillance coupled to the Automatic Identification System (AIS) that tracks vessel movements is an efficient way to monitor illegal discharges at sea,” said Markus Helavuori, the HELCOM Professional Secretary in charge of maritime affairs, adding that “regular aerial surveillance can be very dissuasive.” At IWGAS 2019, Estonia also presented its new surveillance plane, a Beechcraft King Air B350ER that is in operation since July 2018.The meeting took place at the premises of the Ministry of the Interior of Estonia and of the Estonian Police and Border Guard Aviation Group.***For more information:Markus HelavuoriHELCOM Professional Secretary in charge of maritime affairsmarkus.helavuori@helcom.fi

Improving surveillance of spills and discharges at sea was a main subject at the Annual Meeting of the HELCOM Informal Working Group on Aerial Surveillance (IWGAS 2019) that was held in Tallinn, Estonia from 20 to 21 March 2019.

Opening of the BSD 2019Plenary Session on 22 March 2019. © HELCOM Looking back on 20 years of its existence as a platform addressing the environmental challenges of the Baltic Sea, the (BSD 2019) was held in St. Petersburg, Russia from 21 to 22 March 2019. This year, nutrient recycling and management was the central focus of the forum.Currently, about 97% of the Baltic Sea is affected by eutrophication, with the lead cause being the excessive input of nutrients to the sea from land-based sources, such as from agriculture. In a bid to curb eutrophication, HELCOM has been tasked by its members to devise a Baltic Sea nutrient recycling strategy by 2020. This work is currently carried out under the lead of Finland, also holding chairmanship of HELCOM until mid-2020.”A circular economy is key to a more sustainable production and consumption system, and a nutrient recycling strategy supports this very much,” said Hannele Pokka, Permanent Secretary at the Finnish Ministry of the Environment who sat on the BSD 2019 forum’s high-level panel debating about nutrients.During the forum, other Baltic Sea topics such as biodiversity conservation, fisheries, environmental consequences of physical damage to the sea floor, underwater noise and marine litter were also included in the programmes of several roundtable sessions.The topics discussed during the forum were addressed against the backdrop of the that is bound to be renewed in 2021. The BSAP update was presented in more detail by HELCOM Chair Saara Bäck.”There is always a great interest to attend and contribute to the [Baltic Sea Day] roundtables,” said the HELCOM Executive Secretary Monika Stankiewicz , further stressing that the event provides a “priceless opportunity for exchange, joint planning and networking” between stakeholders from science, administration and policy across the entire Baltic.Since 2000, the Baltic Sea Day Forum has been held in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and organized in cooperation with HELCOM. During its 20-year history, it has become a key platform for the environmental dialogue on the Baltic Sea at the regional and global level.The event traditionally also features an award ceremony recognising the efforts of the recipients on environmental matters of the Baltic Sea.This year, among other awards, Certificates of Merit from the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment of Russia were handed over to Natalia Tretiakova, the Russian HELCOM Head of Delegation, and Natalia Kutaeva, the vice-chair of the HELCOM Maritime, for their substantial contribution to international cooperation and their role in organizing the event.The forum is now coordinated by the Government of St. Petersburg, the State Company “Mineral”, and the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources of the Russian Federation***For more information:Dominik LittfassCommunication Secretarydominik.littfass@helcom.fi

Looking back on 20 years of its existence as a platform addressing the environmental challenges of the Baltic Sea, the XX Anniversary International Environmental Forum “Baltic Sea Day” (BSD 2019) was held in St. Petersburg, Russia from 21 to 22 March 2019

​Monika Stankiewicz, HELCOM Executive Secretary, addressing the UNEA-4 assemblyHELCOM participated in the that took place in Nairobi, Kenya from 11 to 15 March 2019, where it particularly contributed in advancing the debate on marine litter, microplastics and ocean-literacy.UNEA-4 saw the launch of the by , a group of scientific experts that provides advice to the UN on marine environmental protection. Staff from the HELCOM Secretariat were involved in the development of the guidelines which contain several references to HELCOM work on marine litter.At UNEA-4’s , HELCOM also shared its experiences on drafting and implementing the . During the event, focus was also placed on single use plastic items, as well as the need to address, together with the fishing sector, the issue of lost, abandoned, discarded or otherwise discarded fishing gear (ALDFG).Monika Stankiewicz, HELCOM Executive Secretary (1st from left) with Peter Thomson, UN Secretary General Special Envoy for the Ocean (3rd from left), Lisa Emelia Svensson, Global Director of Ocean at UN Environment (4th from left), Takehiro Nakamura from UN Environment (3rd from right), Marta Ruiz from HELCOM (1st from right) and other delegates attending UNEA-4.UNEA is the world’s highest-level environmental forum attended by Heads of State, environment ministers, CEOs of multinational companies, NGOs, environmental activists, and more, to discuss and make global commitments to environmental protection.”HELCOM, like its [regional seas] sister organizations around the world, are a bridge between the global commitments and the national action in each of the regional seas we manage,” . “Our cooperation under UN Environment and its Regional Seas Programme creates a unique opportunity to advance the implementation of the global commitments.”Indeed, HELCOM is currently updating its strategic programme for a healthy Baltic Sea, the Baltic Sea Action Plan, closely integrating the , the , and the objectives of the .Under the twin theme of “Innovative solutions for environmental challenges and sustainable consumption and production”, UNEA-4 took a critical look at our consumption patterns.”For all the progress inspired by the Global Goals, one barrier impedes them all: the choices we make in our everyday lives continue to fuel consumption and production habits that are increasingly extending beyond the limits of our planet,” said H.E. Siim Kiisler, President of the 2019 UN Environment Assembly and current Minister of the Environment of Estonia. The country is a .The sixth , UN Environment’s flagship report on the overall state of our environment and how it affects our social and economic status, was also presented to the public during UNEA-4.

HELCOM participated in the Fourth session of the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-4) that took place in Nairobi, Kenya from 11 to 15 March 2019, where it particularly contributed in advancing the debate on marine litter, microplastics and ocean-literacy.

At the 40th Meeting of the Helsinki Commission that was held in Helsinki (HELCOM 40-2019), Finland, from 6 to 7 March 2019, the HELCOM members addressed key orientations for the future, and also adopted several recommendations aimed at strengthening the environmental protection of the Baltic Sea.

The HELCOM countries adopted the HELCOM Recommendation on Conservation and Protection of Marine and Coastal Biotopes, Habitats and Biotope Complexes. This document contains specific steps to protect and conserve all marine and coastal biotopes, especially the endangered and vulnerable ones indicated on the HELCOM Red List.

“Currently, there are 59 different biotopes under threat in the Baltic Sea. Most of these biotopes are threatened directly due to eutrophication, or indirectly through oxygen depletion, and due to disruptive fishing methods,” said the HELCOM Chair, Ms Saara Bäck, in her statement at the meeting. “The new recommendation recognizes that these habitats may not be covered by existing regulations and therefore require protection beyond the scope of existing measures.”

Still on biodiversity, HELCOM 40-2019 also approved the HELCOM Action Plan for the protection and recovery of Baltic sturgeon. Once an integral part of the Baltic Sea ecosystem, the sturgeon became extinct in the 1950s. The plan aims at a recovery of the species within two generation periods.

Moreover, the members approved the revision of a HELCOM Recommendation directing the Baltic Sea countries to develop maritime spatial plans that consider integrated coastal management relying on the ecosystem-based approach.

HELCOM 40-2019 also adopted the amendments made to the Volume 1 of the HELCOM Response Manual that deals with oil spills and general provisions related to maritime incidents and spills.

On the Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP), HELCOM members furthermore took note of the ongoing update process, particularly welcoming the recent establishment of HELCOM initiatives to analyse the sufficiency of measures.

“For its part, the strategic plan for the BSAP update is advancing steadily, with first steps towards its implementation already taken through the establishment of initiatives for the analysis of sufficiency of measures – the EU-funded HELCOM-led ACTION project and the HELCOM platform on sufficiency of measures (HELCOM SOM Platform),” said the HELCOM Executive Secretary Ms Monika Stankiewicz in her official statement to the Meeting.

“Working closely together and drawing on interdisciplinary expertise from across the Baltic Sea region, both initiatives [will be] analysing if the measures that are currently in place are sufficient to achieve good environmental status for the Baltic Sea,” she said.

HELCOM 40-2019 was also the occasion for HELCOM stakeholders to present their work, with BONUS – a joint Baltic Sea research and development programme – presenting three of its projects, namely BONUS-BAMBI that deals with genetic variations and climate change, BONUS-BALTICAPP on climate change and its effects on the Baltic Sea, and BONUS-GO4BALTIC that looks into the cost-effectiveness of Baltic Sea environmental projects. In total, BONUS has invested almost EUR 100 million in 48 projects across the Baltic Sea region.

The success of BONUS has led to the inception of BANOS CSA (Baltic and North Sea Coordination Support Action) that aims at widening the geographical scope of BONUS from the Baltic Sea to also include the North Sea and the English Channel Sea.

BANOS CSA strategic partners are HELCOM, OSPAR, ICES and JPI Oceans. The HELCOM members particularly welcomed the BANOS CSA initiative and mandated HELCOM to deepen the regional cooperation within the new platform and its sister organisations from the other seas, notably on sharing scientific knowledge to reach the ecological objectives set for the Baltic Sea.

During the meeting, the ResponSEAble project took the opportunity to present its work on ocean literacy, with a focus on behaviour change.

In addition, HELCOM 40-2019 granted the Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (NEFCO) – an international financial institution established by the Nordic governments – observer status to HELCOM.

HELCOM 40-2019 also endorsed the nomination of Mr Rüdiger Strempel from Germany as the next Executive Secretary of HELCOM. Mr Strempel will start in August 2019, replacing Ms Monika Stankiewicz.

The Meeting was attended by all Contracting Parties, by Chairs and Vice-Chairs of HELCOM Groups, and the following observer organizations: Baltic Farmers’ Forum on Environment (BFFE), Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference (BSPC), Baltic Sea States Subregional Co-operation (BSSSC) and Conference of Peripheral and Maritime Regions – Baltic Sea Commission (CPMR BSC), Coalition Clean Baltic (CCB), Federation of European Aquaculture Producers (FEAP) and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) as well as invited guests from the BONUS research projects and the ResponSEAble project.

For further information, please contact:

Dominik Littfass
Communication Secretary
dominik.littfass@helcom.fi

The has taken another concrete step with the launch, in February, of two central initiatives, namely the ACTION project and the HELCOM Platform on Sufficiency of Measures (HELCOM SOM Platform). Working closely together and drawing on interdisciplinary expertise from across the Baltic Sea region, both initiatives will be analysing if the measures that are currently in place are sufficient to achieve good environmental status for the Baltic Sea. The initiatives are a direct result from the decision taken earlier in 2018 by the HELCOM Ministers during the last , which provided the mandate to update the BSAP beyond its end date in 2021.”The new initiatives will provide the scientific underpinning to the next steps that will be decided to achieve good environmental status for the Baltic Sea,” said HELCOM Executive Secretary Monika Stankiewicz. The recent concludes that, in general, the Baltic Sea is still in a poor state, despite improvements and signs of recovery. Through the new initiatives, HELCOM and its partners will develop an approach for a regional analysis on the sufficiency of measures, to identify potential gaps in achieving HELCOM goals and objectives, and to estimate the cost-effectiveness of tentative new measures to fill these gaps. One approach to measure the gaps will be to develop “business as usual” (BAU) scenarios that will provide a better understanding of how far we are from achieving good environmental status when only implementing the currently agreed upon measures. The assessment of the sufficiency of measures will be a data-driven process, with expert-based evaluations complementing the analyses where required.The natural conditions – such as weather patterns – that influence the achievement of good environmental status (GES) in the Baltic Sea region will also be taken into account, including impacts of projected changes in climate. “While new measures to bridge the gap might be needed in the future, the current focus still remains on strengthening the implementation of the already agreed upon measures,” reminded Stankiewicz.About the HELCOM SOM Platform and the ACTION projectBoth the HELCOM SOM Platform and the ACTION project work closely together on the implementation of the sufficiency of measures analyses that will feed the Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP) update process.The HELCOM SOM Platform is constituted of experts drawn from various . It is chaired by Mr Urmas Lips from the Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia. The Vice-chair is Ms Soile Oinonen from the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE).Co-funded by the EU, the ACTION project is led by HELCOM, with its partners being the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE), Technical University of Denmark (DTU), Aarhus University (AU), Tallinn University of Technology (TTU), Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management (SwAM), Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), University of Tartu (UT), and Klaipėda University, Marine Research Institute (KU).ACTION will run from January 2019 to December 2020. In addition to contributing to the update of the BSAP, it can also be used by HELCOM countries that are also EU members for updating and implementing their Programme of Measures.

The update of the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP) has taken another concrete step with the launch of two central initiatives, the ACTION project and the HELCOM SOM Platform. Launched in Helsinki during the end of February, both will focus on…

Heini Ahtiainen is a project researcher on Economic and Social Analyses at the HELCOM Secretariat and project coordinator of the ACTION projectQuestion: What has economic and social analysis (ESA) to do with the flounder? Or: why has ESA become prevalent in HELCOM work?Heini Ahtiainen: In order to better comprehend the pressures on the Baltic, and how we can achieve good environmental status for our sea, we also need to understand the behaviour and actions of people. We get a lot out of the sea, but our activities can have damaging impacts on the marine environment. Often, the economic and social cost of this damage is not assessed. This is where ESA comes in: it reveals the cost of the environmental degradation. It also quantifies the benefits us humans could gain from a sea in a healthy state. Why should environmental benefits be quantified?When expressed in monetary terms, the environmental benefits of a healthy sea become comparable to any other economic activity. This helps to put things into perspective, especially when developing policies that also concern the marine environment, for instance in maritime spatial planning, where previous priorities were sometimes detrimental to the marine environment. How can ESA guide environmental policy-making?When developing measures to improve the marine environment, ESA can provide a good indication on the least cost way of achieving good environmental status. These cost-effectiveness analyses can greatly help to prioritize measures, to see what actions yield the highest results at low or reasonable financial effort. These are the measures most likely to succeed because they are the most implementable.What about the ecosystem-based approach?ESA is an integral part of the ecosystem-based approach. It shows the linkages between human activities, the environmental status of the sea, and human wellbeing. ESA also helps to highlight the ecosystem services provided by the sea that have a value – both economic, social and cultural – for us humans. Fish stocks for fisheries, or an attractive seascape for recreational activities are good examples.How is HELCOM involved in ESA work?HELCOM recently concluded a major assessment of the Baltic Sea, with the results published in the . For the first time, the economic and social contribution of the Baltic Sea to our economies and well-being was analysed comprehensively. The report also contains an analysis of the cost of degradation: benefits lost if GES not attained. HELCOM is also involved in an EU-funded project on maritime spatial planning in the region, . There, among other activities, we are collecting information on the impacts of marine spatial planning on economic, social and ecosystem services. HELCOM also runs an comprised of members from all Contracting Parties. Last but not least, the recently launched EU-funded that is led by HELCOM will develop ESA approaches for the update of the Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP).Speaking of… What has ESA to do with the BSAP update?ESA contributes directly to the analysis of sufficiency of measures (SOM). It helps to see if good status is achievable with existing measures. For the update of the BSAP, it will be crucial to know what previous and current measures yielded what results, and at what cost. For potential new measures, cost-effectiveness analyses will help us to identify those which make most sense. The cheaper and more effective the measure, the better for attaining the ecological objectives of the BSAP.  

Heini Ahtiainen is a project researcher on Economic and Social Analyses at the HELCOM Secretariat Question: What has economic and social analysis (ESA) to do with the flounder? Or: why has ESA become prevalent in HELCOM work?

HELCOM has recently published a for the Baltic Sea showing the potential of the recently developed OpenRisk guideline for assessing maritime risk related to oil spills.The case study is part of the that led to the development of a containing several open-access methods for maritime risk management. “The basic idea of the case study is to demonstrate, in practice, the usefulness of the OpenRisk toolbox and associated guidelines for assessing the risk of accidental oil spill,” said Valtteri Laine, the OpenRisk project manager and co-author of the study.The Baltic Sea case study focuses on maritime incidents in two test areas. The first one includes the Gulf of Finland and the Archipelago Sea, and the second one part of the sea areas south of Sweden and east of mainland Denmark.The study is based on data provided by HELCOM, and by Denmark, Finland and Sweden.The OpenRisk Baltic Sea case study is also available both as and as .The three other OpenRisk partners – the Maritime Research Institute Netherlands (), the Finnish Environmental Agency () and the Norwegian Coastal Administration () – also .The OpenRisk project was co-financed by the European Union. ·        ·        ·       

HELCOM has recently published a case study for the Baltic Sea showing the potential of the recently developed OpenRisk guideline for assessing maritime risk related to oil spills.

 Members of the FISH-PRO III project in Helsinki on 13 February 2019. © HELCOMCoastal fish assessments will continue to be carried out in the Baltic Sea with renewed commitment from the HELCOM countries, as shown during the first meeting of the  that was held in Helsinki from 12 to 14 February 2019. The focus of the meeting was to finalize the revised monitoring guideline for coastal fish in HELCOM, and to follow up on the development work of the indicators used for the assessments of coastal fish.”The Helsinki meeting took us a step further in the development of additional indicators for coastal fish,” said Jens Olsson, project manager of FISH-PRO III and chair of the meeting.The current  on coastal fish notably evaluate the abundance of typical species of fish, such as perch and flounder, in the coastal areas of the Baltic Sea. They also evaluate the status of key functional groups such as piscivores, cyprinids and mesopredators.FISH-PRO III – the Continuation of the Project for Baltic-wide assessment of coastal fish communities in support of an ecosystem-based management – follows the FISH-PRO II project. Findings from FISH-PRO II were recently published in the . HELCOM thematic assessments on coastal fish have been produced since 2006. Attended by participants from Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia and Sweden, the meeting was instrumental in outlining the project’s thematic areas of work and workplan for the coming years. Furthermore, the assessments produced by FISH-PRO III will also feed the . 

Coastal fish assessments will continue to be carried out in the Baltic Sea with renewed commitment from the HELCOM countries, as shown during the first meeting of the FISH-PRO III project that was held in Helsinki from 12 to 14 February 2019.

Monika Stankiewicz presenting HELCOM and the case of the Baltic Sea at the UN Regular Process multi-stakeholder dialogue event at UN headquarters in New York on 25 January 2019.To strengthen marine assessments around the world, the United Nations convened . HELCOM was invited to share its experience about assessing the Baltic Sea and managing a regional sea.HELCOM has recently concluded a major sea assessment spanning from 2011 to 2016, with the results compiled in the . During the conference, ocean-literacy emerged to be a central question, with calls by panellists and country representatives to the UN to increase, globally, what we know about the oceans and seas.The event in New York also highlighted the importance of good science-policy interaction at all levels for pertinent marine assessments.”Do researchers know what decisions makers need, and do decision makers understand what researchers can do,” asked Mr Ariel Troisi from the (IOC-UNESCO) in his opening keynote address, further stressing on the importance of bridging the gap between policy and science for better ocean assessments. “Ensuring policy relevance requires frequent interactions between scientists and managers – in the case of the Baltic Sea, HELCOM provides such a policy-science interface,” said Monika Stankiewicz, Executive Secretary of HELCOM, during her panel presentation.According to Stankiewicz, policy relevance must be a major consideration when doing assessments. “In the Baltic Sea, the assessments directly serve various requirements and policy needs the member countries have, whether stemming from regional, European or global processes.”Broadening the scope of assessments to economic and social considerations was another issue addressed during the event by several participants, with a consensus forming on the relation between oceans in good health and economic value.”Better social and economic analysis is a missing piece of the puzzle in further integrating the marine policies and sectorial policies, and also to link implementation of different Sustainable Development Goals,” said Stankiewicz.The recent HELCOM State of the Baltic Sea assessment includes economic and social analyses, with findings showing that losses linked to eutrophication, and losses to revenue from recreational activities due to a sea in a poor state, could amount to EUR 4.4 billion and EUR 2 billion annually respectively.Another key ingredient for successful ocean assessments showed to be strong regional cooperation, with Monika Stankiewicz stressing that “Regional Sea Conventions and Actions Plans and other regional bodies help to translate global requirements to national implementation,” said Stankiewicz.The conference – – was organized by the  (Regular Process), and was open to representatives of States, United Nations organizations, intergovernmental organizations, and industry and civil society stakeholders. 

To strengthen marine assessments around the world, the United Nations convened a capacity building conference in New York from 24 to 25 January 2019. HELCOM was invited to share its experience about assessing the Baltic Sea and managing a regional sea.

A new research project will focus on decreasing and removing microplastics in the Baltic Sea. The project will increase knowledge and understanding about dispersal pathways and sources through measurements in different flows in society, as well as cost-effective methods to reduce microplastics. Marine littering is one of the greatest environmental challenges of our time and plastic is one of the most common types of garbage in the sea. As the Baltic countries collaborate on initiatives like FanpLESStic, similar cross-border strategies are being mirrored in sectors beyond environmental conservation, such as the rise of offshore gambling platforms. For example, the beste goksite zonder limiet, popular among players seeking fewer restrictions, exemplifies the kind of international cooperation and relaxed regulations that can transcend borders—much like water pollution. “This is an exciting project ranging from knowledge to technology and decision-making. We hope that it will give concrete benefit to an extremely important marine environment: the Baltic Sea. The water has no borders, and it is therefore important that we do this together with our colleagues in the Baltic countries,” says Marinette Hagman, Research Manager at Sweden Water Research.

The project has three key targets: increased knowledge of where microplastics come from and their transport pathways, evaluation of technology that can reduce microplastic or microplastic leakage before reaching watercourses, and increased knowledge and commitment of decision-makers through suggestions on how to implement cost-effective methods to reduce microplastics. “We do not know much about microplastics today. In order to make reliable analyses of the amount of microplastics in the water, we need to standardize our measurement methods. Without that, it is difficult to determine how much plastic there is in the environment, where it comes from, and how we can work to reduce it,” says Marinette Hagman.

About the project
FanpLESStic project includes partner organizations in eight countries with coasts on the Baltic Sea (Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, and Russia). The total budget of the project is €2,968,068.80, with financial support by the EU Interreg program. The project period is from January 1, 2019, to June 30, 2021. The project coordinator is Sweden Water Research, with Carina Svensson serving as the responsible project manager, bringing solid experience in international projects.

FanpLESStic-sea seeks to reduce microplastic leakage by following main outputs:

Facts about microplastics in marine environments
Marine littering is one of the greatest environmental challenges of our time, and plastic is one of the most common types of garbage in the sea. Microplastics are plastic particles that are smaller than 5 mm in size. One problem with our knowledge about microplastics is that today there is no standard for measuring, sampling, and analyzing microplastics in different forms, which makes it difficult to compare results. Without reliable analytical methods, the amount of plastic in the environment cannot be determined, which means that it is not possible to determine which source is most important and what impact they have.

Partners in FanpLESStic
Denmark: Aalborg University,
Finland: Natural Resources Institute Finland and Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission – Helsinki Commission,
Latvia: Latvian Institute of Aquatic Ecology,
Lithuania: Siauliai Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Crafts,
Norway: Salt Lofoten AS,
Poland: Gdansk Water Utilities Ltd. and Gdansk Water Ltd.,
Russia: State Autonomous Institution of the Kaliningrad region “Environmental Center “ECAT-Kaliningrad”,
Sweden: Sweden Water Research and Luleå University of Technology

Contact
Marinette Hagman, Research Manager, Sweden Water Research: phone +46-(0)10-490 98 17, marinette.hagman@nsva.se
Carina Svensson, Project Manager, Sweden Water Research: +46-(0)72-226 95 94, carina.svensson@swrab.se

A new research project will focus on decreasing and removing microplastics in the Baltic Sea. The project will increase knowledge and understanding about dispersal pathways and sources through measurements in different flows in society.