Fishing boat on the Baltic Sea.
Photo: Ina Hensel / Adobe Stock.
A recent high-level meeting on Baltic Sea fisheries in Klaipėda, Lithuania has stressed the need for better cooperation and science-based decision-making to tackle the serious environmental and fisheries challenges facing the Baltic Sea, the world's largest brackish water basin which is considered one of the most threatened marine ecosystems globally.
The event, “For and from the Baltic: Navigating the Future of Fisheries with Ecosystem-Based Management”, was co-hosted on 18 September by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) and the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG MARE), and opened by Charlina Vitcheva, Director-General of DG MARE. It brought together scientists, policymakers, and regional organisations to discuss how to restore the sea’s health and ensure its long-term resilience.
“The Baltic Sea’s recovery cannot be achieved by reducing fishing alone,” participants concluded in a joint statement. “Climate change, eutrophication, and biodiversity loss mean that traditional, single-species management is no longer sufficient.”
Currently, Baltic fisheries are largely managed through single-species stock assessments aimed at achieving maximum sustainable yield (MSY). However, speakers at the meeting said these methods no longer reflect the complex realities of the ecosystem, with fish stocks under pressure from multiple factors, including climate change and pollution.
In their joint statement, ICES and the European Commission call for a broader, ecosystem-based approach that takes into account all the different activities and pressures on the Baltic Sea, such as fisheries, shipping and coastal development.
This would require long-term investment and resources to support science and policymaking, stronger collaboration between ICES, the Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission HELCOM, national institutes and universities, and the roll-out of advanced tools like the Digital Twin of the Ocean and ICES’ Framework for Ecosystem-Informed Science and Advice (FEISA). The statement argues these steps will be vital to making management more responsive and to translating scientific knowledge into concrete action.
The joint statement also calls for closer cooperation, saying only combined efforts can deliver real progress: “Cooperation among all Baltic states, their relevant institutions, organizations, and stakeholders is crucial to translate knowledge into coordinated action across sectors to reinforce common efforts towards the recovery and resilience of the Baltic Sea," the statement concludes.
The joint statement from the meeting in Lithuania will also be presented in Stockholm on 30 September at the Our Baltic Ministerial Conference, which will bring together environment, agriculture, and fisheries ministers, along with European Parliament members and regional organisations, to agree on next steps for safeguarding the Baltic Sea.
The European Commission has described the Baltic as an urgent priority under its Ocean Pact strategy, and recently proposed sharp reductions in fishing opportunities for Baltic Sea stocks in 2026, reflecting what it called the "dire situation" of these fish populations.