HELCOM HOLAS II &

Assessing fish as part of the Baltic Sea ecosystem

Lena Bergström, Project Coordinator of HOLAS II

What are the aims of the HOLAS II project? What will be assessed? Where does fish come into the assessment?

Primary aims of the second HELCOM holistic assessment of ecosystem health of the Baltic Sea

• Follow up on the Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP)

• Serve as a base for the 2018 reporting of the MSFD

Lena Bergström, HOLAS II

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: Ulf

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Also: Support the further development of a Baltic regional indicator-based assessment system

Contributions from other projects, and from expert groups:

• Better and more reliable indicators

• Improved data flow

• Increasingly automated and transparent assessment methods

Lena Bergström, HOLAS II

Timeline

2015 2016 2017 2018

Develop tools and concepts, data flows, core indicators

Assess-ment and writing

Updates, finalize report

Consul-tation

Project from December 2014 to June 2018.

Develop and test methods

Data!

RELEASE OF FIRST RESULTS

UPDATED RESULTS

Overview of HOLAS II outputs at different level of detail

Results by species groups, descriptors, integrated assessments

Results by indicator

”Chapters in the report”

What will be assessed? Where does fish come into the assessment?

These slides reflect planned work! Many aspects are to be dicussed and agreed on further

Drivers

Pressures

Status of the ecosystem

Impacts (ecosystem

services)

Responses

To be developed further by HOLAS II together with the TAPAS project

HOLAS II in relation to the DPSIR framework

Economic and social analyses (ESA): how to link the natural science-based assessment to analyses of

benefits and consequences for human well-being

• Use of marine waters– Linked to assessment of human activities and pressures

• Cost of degradation– Benefits forgone if GES is not reached

• Ecosystem services?

To be considered further (Workshops for method development will be held 10-11 May, Helsinki and 8-9 September, Tallinn)

BIRDS FISH MAM-MALS

BENTICPELA-GIC

D7 D9 D10 D11D2 D6D3

EUTRO D5 HAZ D8BIODIV

D1,D4,D6

Environmental status (GES)

Results for groups of biodiversity elements

Thematic outputs

Assessment of Good Environmental Status

Some pressure based desriptors may not be relevant to show in maps

D1= BiodiversityD2= Non-indigenous speciesD3 = Commercial fishD4 = Food websD5 = EutrophicationD6 = Seafloor integrityD7 = Hydrographical alterationsD8= Contaminant concentrationsD9 = Contaminants in foodD10 = Marine litterD11 = Noise and energy

GES is assessed based on Core indicators

• Biological elements: mammals, birds, fish, pelagic and benthic habitats

• Pressure based indicators: Non-indigenous species, Commercial fishing, Eutrophication, Contaminants, Marine litter, Energy and noise

Indicators potentially available for HOLAS II

C-GES=Core indicator with GES definition, C=Core indicator still lacking GES definition, PC=Pre-Core

Integrated assessment of biodiversity

Integration steps

Other options to be evaluated for the integrated assessment of biodiversity

Criteria-approach Species approach

To be compared with the currently planned “species group” –compartments. Need to explore relationship between available indicators and criteria proposed in the draft new commission decision on GES criteria, to explore where gaps appear and how it affects the overall assessment.

Ways to present the results

Name Surname

5/10/201615

Aggregated results based on averaging or one-out-all-out

Shades of red in this example show distance to the boundary

IndicatorAssessment units

1) Level 1: Entire Baltic Sea

2) Level 2: 17 units

Assessment units(cont.)

3) Level 317 units with coastal areas separated

4) Level 4: WFD Water bodies

Cumulative effect assessment

Pressure data layer

x

Impact score

x

Ecosystem component data layer

Impact scores rate the sensitivity of the ecosystem component to the concerned pressure, eg from 1-3.

Web questionaire in planning

• A questionnaire will collect expert opinions to support setting the impact scores

• The questionnaire will relate circa 19 pressures to their effects on ecosystem components

• Time plan: June

Name Surname

5/10/201619

Ongoing collation of spatial datasets

HUMAN ACTIVITIES

43 datasets aimed for

PRESSURES

44 datasets aimed for

The spatial datasets will be merged into thematic layers for the assessment – circa 20 layers representing pressures

Ongoing collation of spatial datasets

ECOSYSTEM COMPONENTS• Pelagic habitats (2)

• Broad-scale seabed habitats (6)

• Habitat-forming species (5)

• Natura 2000 habitats (8)

• Fish species (7)

• Important bird areas (3)

• Marine mammals (3)

Value in brackets give indicative number of layers considered in each group)

Ecosystem component layers for fish

• Cod

• Sprat

• Herring

• Perch

• Pikeperch

• Flounder

• Roach

These will be included in the assessment provided that spatial datasets of adequate quality can be obtained

Also maps over spawning areas where possible and relevant

Windfarms- Status- Capacity (MW)- N of turbines- Construction year

Pipelines- Status

Example data sets on human activities

Surface abrasion

Data for 2009-2013

Example data sets on pressures

Fish related human activities in the spatial assessment

Activity Example subactivity

Fish and shellfish harvesting (professional,

recreational)

Potting/ creeling (FPO, FIX)

Netting (GNS)

Demersal long lining (LLS)

Pelagic long lining (LLD)

Benthic trawling (OTB, OTT, PTB)

Pelagic trawling (OTM, PTM)

Demersal seining (SDN, SSC)

Purse seining (PS)

Benthic dredging (HMD)

Leisure fishing (RG, [GN, LX])

Aquaculture - marineFinfish mariculture

Shellfish mariculture

Assessment: What pressures do these activities cause on the environment?What are the benefits of these activities on human well-being?

Assessed pressures (prel.)Assessment: Which of these pressures affect fish and to what extent?

Pressure Subpressure

Substances, litter and energy

Input of nutrients From atmospheric deposition, diffuse and point sources

Input of organic matter From diffuse sources

Input of hazardous substances From acute events, atmospheric deposition, diffuse sources, point sources

Input of litter Solid waste and micro-sized litter

Input of soundContinuous sound

Impulsive sound

Input of other forms of energySeismic waves

Change in water temperature

Biological

Input or spread of non-indigenous species Input or spread of non-indigenous species

Disturbance of species due to human presence (layered combined from human activities)

Extraction of, or mortality/injury to, species Target and non-targeted catches in commercial and recreational fishing

Physical

Disturbance or damage to seabed Disturbance or damage to seabed

Extraction of seabed substrate Extraction of seabed substrate

Change of seabed substrate or morphology Change of seabed substrate or morphology (physical loss)

Changes to hydrological conditions Changes to hydrological conditions

Good environmental statusis assessed using fish based and fish-related indicators

Division in relation to the MSFD:

- Descriptor 1, 4 (Biodiversity): HELCOM core indicators- Descriptor 3 (Commercially exploited fish and shellfish): ICES

Back to the fish indicators:

How to include the indicators?• State based: All D1, D4, (D6) indicators, as well as D3

indicators under criteria D3.2 and D3.3.

• Pressure based: D3 indicators criterion D3.1

• All state-based indicators are proposed to be included in the Biodiversity assessment of HOLAS II.

Name Surname

5/10/201628

BIRDS FISH MAM-MALS

PELA-GIC

D7 D9D10

D11

D2 D6D3

HAZ D8

Assessment of ecosystem health

State based descriptors

Pressure based descriptors

BENTIC

Biodiversity elements

EUTRO D5

Human activities and pressure acting on the marine

environmentBSPII output

Trends in key pressuresCore pressure indicators

Socioeconomic importance

Ecosystem services

to be developed

further

Measures

to be developed

further

BIODIVD1,D4,D6

Introduction

OverviewCharacteristics

of the Baltic Sea

BIRDS FISH MAM-MALS

PELA-GIC

D3

Assessment of ecosystem health

State based descriptors

Pressure based descriptors

BENTIC

BIODIVERSITY

ICES indicators

CORE indicators