Underwater noise
UNDERWATER NOISEUnderwater noise Continuous noise was evaluated for the first time in HELCOM during the current assessment period, by addressing the proportion of the Baltic Sea area exceeding noise levels…
Non-indigenous species
NON-INDIGENOUS SPECIESNon-indigenous species Thirteen non-indigenous or cryptogenic species appeared for the first time in the Baltic Sea during the assessment period 2016-2021 (Figure 4.15). The threshold value for good environmental…
Hazardous substances
HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCESHazardous substances The status of hazardous substances shows some signs of improvement during the assessment period, however it is still clearly not good (Figure 4.7). The integrated contamination status…
Eutrophication
EUTROPHICATIONEutrophication The integrated assessment of eutrophication status shows that eutrophication is still a major problem in the Baltic Sea (Figure 4.3). There were no clear signs of recovery during 2016-…
Pollution
POLLUTIONPollution Pollution refers to pressures that spread through the marine ecosystem, where they can have major and widespread impacts. Eutrophication, hazardous substances, marine litter, underwater noise and the introduction of…
Pressures
PRESSURESPressures, types of measures and regulations The segments of the Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP) seek to reflect a combination of pressures that both stem from activities on land and…
marine mammals
MARINE MAMMALSThe status of marine mammals Marine mammals (Figure 3.12) exhibit not good status in the Baltic Sea (Figure 3.13). While grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) and harbour seal (Phoca vitulina)…
Status
STATUS OF BIODIVERSITYWhat is at stake for biodiversity? Updated biodiversity status assessment results for the Baltic Sea clearly show the need for continued and improved coordinated measures for its environment…
Findings
FINDINGSThe state of the Baltic Sea ecosystem has not improved The knowledge base of this holistic assessment is more comprehensive than that of previous HELCOM assessments. Several uncertainties have been…
About the Baltic Sea
ABOUT THE BALTIC SEABiodiversity and the Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is one of the largest brackish water areas in the world, with a surface area of 420,000 square kilometres.…
