Seabased Measures in Baltic Sea Nutrient Management

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The project will reduce nutrients from the Baltic Sea and improve water quality especially in the coastal areas by piloting and developing seabased activities. Although nutrient load from land-based sources to the sea has reduced significantly, good ecological status has not been reached partly due to large amount of internal loading from the bottom sediments. Moreover, fulfilling the nutrient reductions agreed in the HELCOM BSAP seems challenging for many countries such as Sweden and Finland. Therefore, both Finnish and Swedish governments have decided to include seabased measures in their Baltic Sea protection policy (MSFD and governmental programs). As local authorities are currently also lacking effective means to improve water quality in coastal and semi-enclosed sea areas where the traditional land-based measures are not sufficient, there is a growing demand for applying seabased measures. As an added benefit, some of these measures enable nutrient recycling and circular economy. Scientists have proposed various seabased measures for the Baltic Sea. However, comprehensive information with regards impacts, costs, risks, applicability and financing of the different measures is currently lacking. The project will pilot several promising measures, such as 1) recycling nutrients from bottom sediments or nutrient-rich bottom waters for further use on land, 2) recycling nutrients on land in the form of stickleback fish, 3) applying various nutrient binding materials to sediments. The project will also produce a concept of Marine Habitat Bank for local water quality improvement and ecosystem restoration measures; and Practical Guidelines on Seabased measures in the Baltic Sea. Moreover, the project aims at facilitating an open, multi-disciplinary and cross-sector dialogue on benefits and risks of seabased measures and their applicability in Baltic Sea context.

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