HELCOM launches Fisheries and Environmental Forum on sustainable use of Baltic marine biodiversity

Helsinki, 3 October (HELCOM Information Service) – The Helsinki Commission for the protection of the Baltic marine environment has successfully launched a new initiative to intensify the integration of fisheries and environment policies in the Baltic Sea area in order to ensure conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity.

The inaugural Meeting of the Fisheries and Environmental Forum, held by HELCOM on 23 September, showed that the fisheries and environmental authorities of the Baltic Sea countries have considerable interest in working together to resolve possible conflicts between nature protection and fisheries management. The Meeting discussed a wide range of issues, including fisheries management within marine protected areas in the Baltic Sea. The development of an ecologically coherent network of marine protected areas, including fisheries management measures to be applied there by 2010 is one of the goals of the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan which was adopted in 2007 to restore the good ecological status of the marine environment by 2021.

“It is essential that the competent environmental and fisheries authorities in the region have a common forum to discuss fisheries in the context of the protection of the marine environment of the Baltic Sea area,” said Anne Christine Brusendorff, HELCOM’s Executive Secretary. "The fisheries sector has a significant impact on biological diversity, habitats and species, but it is also dependant on a healthy ecosystem for its survival. The results of these discussions on how to better integrate fisheries and environment policies will be very important for the successful implementation of the Baltic Sea Action Plan.”

The Meeting approved a Joint Statement on the general implementation status of marine protected areas in the Baltic Sea area, with a specific focus on fisheries management measures. Taking into account the ongoing EU work to develop guidelines for fisheries in marine protected areas around Europe, the Statement calls for the need to have a Baltic regional approach, which takes into account regional specificities. The Joint Statement underlined the importance of gathering and exchanging data on marine environmental status and fisheries efforts. It also stressed the importance of projects carried out jointly with fisheries and environmental authorities to study possible harmful effects of specific fishing practices in marine protected areas, and the need to ensure that the outcomes of joint projects are used in the policy-making processes. Additionally, participants agreed on the importance of broad stakeholder involvement, as well as the need to enhance knowledge on socio-economic impacts in relation to analysis of various management options for fisheries. The Joint Statement was submitted to the Expert Meeting on the establishment of the EU Natura 2000 marine sites, held on 29 September in Brussels, where also the implementation of fisheries management measures and the Guidelines on the establishment of such in marine protected areas were discussed.

Among other key issues, the Meeting discussed the idea of a possible HELCOM project concerning a new inventory and classification of the Baltic salmon and sea trout rivers. Participants agreed that this inventory will be essential for the development and implementation of the new salmon management plan in the region. Participants also agreed that such an inventory should be done in close co-operation with the fisheries and environmental administrations of all the Baltic coastal countries. Additionally, the Meeting discussed the promotion of the ecosystem-based management of coastal fisheries, spatial planning issues and the integration and exchange of fisheries and environmental data for this purpose.

The Meeting was co-chaired by Mr. Markku Aro from Finland and Ms. Katarzyna Roszkowska from Poland representing both fisheries and environmental sectors respectively. It has already been decided that the next Baltic Fisheries and Environmental Forum will meet in February or March 2009.  

Note to Editors:

The Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission, usually referred to as the Helsinki Commission (HELCOM), is an intergovernmental organisation of the nine Baltic Sea coastal countries and the European Community working to protect the marine environment of the Baltic Sea from all sources of pollution and to ensure safety of navigation in the region.

HELCOM is the governing body of the "Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area," more usually known as the Helsinki Convention.

For more information, please contact:

Mr. Jarmo Vilhunen

Project Researcher

HELCOM

Tel: +358 (0)40 5680404       

Fax: +358 (0)207 412 639

E-mail: jarmo.vilhunen@helcom.fi

Mr. Nikolay Vlasov

Information Secretary

HELCOM

Tel: +358 (0)207 412 635       

Fax: +358 (0)207 412 639

E-mail: nikolay.vlasov@helcom.fi