The Baltic Sea is tired of serving humans, according to alarming data showing that part of the seabed has been declared dead - virtually devoid of life. To ensure the "health" of the sea and its inhabitants, seven marine protected areas have already been designated in Latvia's coastal waters.

Researchers are currently assessing biodiversity in open waters too, with a view to possibly designating three more sites for nature protection in the Baltic Sea soon.

In the meantime, everyone can create their own drop of responsible action in the tired Baltic Sea by reflecting on their daily habits - the choice of fish on their dinner plate, their garden furrow management practices and even their small cottage business.

Overgrowing - dying

The Baltic Sea forms a thread along Latvia's coast for almost five hundred kilometres. Anyone can weave it into their experience, for example, by walking the Jūrtakas route and experiencing both the Didzjura and the Mazjura Seas, sandy and rocky beaches and steep coasts - even if only a little bit each summer. Preferably after bird nesting time - so in the second half of summer. But as well as 496 kilometres of coastline, Latvia also has 28 000 square kilometres of the Baltic Sea, home to many species of invertebrates, fish, birds and plants.

According to the World Wide Fund for Nature, the Baltic Sea not only boasts the distinction of being the youngest sea on the planet, but also carries another, much sadder title: it is not only one of the most intensively exploited seas, but also one of the most polluted seas in the world. Pollution, overfishing, the increasing effects of climate change - all of these are affecting the Baltic Sea ecosystem. Over the last hundred years, nutrients from agriculture, traffic, industry, shipping and domestic sewage have "eaten away", eutrophicating the Baltic Sea. In other words, the sea is becoming overgrown.

According to the Baltic Sea Environment Protection Commission, or HELCOM, up to 97% of the Baltic Sea is suffering from eutrophication due to excessive nutrient discharges - when too many nutrients enter the water, excessive growth of certain species of algae takes place. Some areas of the Baltic Sea, which according to the World Wide Fund for Nature account for more than a sixth of the seabed, have even been declared dead, because overgrowth has led to oxygen starvation and only organisms that do not need oxygen can live in these areas of the sea. The distribution of species and the availability of the food they need are also affected by the warming of the waters and the decrease in salinity in the Baltic Sea due to climate change.

Areas for marine health

Since 2010, seven marine protected areas have been established in Latvia to conserve seabed or benthic habitats and the species they support, as well as to protect important feeding and wintering areas for migratory bird species: Nida-Pērkone, Irbes šaurums, Akmensrags, Rīgas līča rietumu piekraste, Selga uz rietumiem no Tūjas, Vitrupe-Tuja and Ainaži-Salacgrīva. At the same time, these areas, which cover 15% of the marine waters managed by Latvia, are also components of the European Union's Natura 2000 network of protected areas, protecting bird species and habitats legally designated under directives binding on Latvia. Currently, all EU Member States are required to protect 30% of their marine waters under the Biodiversity 2030 Strategy.

According to Ilze Sabule, representative of the Nature Conservation Agency and project manager of the marine LIFE REEF research project, the status of marine protected area is granted to ensure the preservation of the marine ecosystem complex characteristic of the area and the protection of habitats from mechanical damage: "Mechanical damage to the seabed is prohibited in the Nature Reserve zones - no wind power plants or mineral extraction are allowed, as well as no new seabed disposal sites or industrial extraction of algae and shellfish. In addition, a seasonal closure has been established in certain areas of the western coast of the Gulf of Riga: from 1 June to 15 August, it is prohibited to ride jet skis and engage in kiteboarding, wakeboarding and water-skiing."

Marine protected areas have been designated on the basis of scientific studies carried out in the marine environment, namely assessments of habitats, fish and bird populations. For example, the Ainaži-Salacgrīva area is home to the only common rock lobster site on the Latvian coast and is one of the most important feeding areas for the river lamprey. Irbes šaurums, which also supports waterbirds such as the Brown-necked Heron, Black-necked Heron, Dark Duck, Black Duck, Pintail, Little Gull and Black Alk, is an important site for transboundary birds: an important wintering area, a resting place during travel and a so-called "bottle neck" site for migrations. In contrast, the Vitrupe-Tūja area contains particularly unique geological reefs - sandstone outcrops covered by a layer of boulders from glacial melt: wave action has caused the boulders to sink into the soft sandstone substrate, forming fine, fragile sandstone structures that shelter many species of underwater invertebrates.

To balance the interests of the sea's users - holidaymakers, fishermen, industrialists, sailors - with those of its "core inhabitants" - the species that inhabit marine habitats - experts from different fields have come together in 2019 to develop a strategic long-term vision for the use of the sea: the way the sea is currently seen at national level in Latvia is defined by the Marine Spatial Plan 2030. The strategic document, which describes the desired situation by 2030, identifies a healthy marine environment, a stable ecosystem and national security as key priorities, while economic sectors prioritise maritime development and safe shipping, sustainable fisheries and tourism, as well as the extraction of renewable energy from the sea, identifying areas in the Baltic Sea waters that meet these objectives. For example, wind farm exploration areas must not overlap with existing Natura 2000 sites - i.e. no wind farms in marine protected areas.

Sandbanks and stone shoals to be protected

The diversity that a holidaymaker experiences when walking along the coastline of the Baltic Sea is also visible to researchers underwater. In Latvian marine waters, two underwater biotopes or habitats, which are habitats for certain species of plants and animals and are characterised by a particular set of environmental conditions, are considered to be protected: Sandbanks in the sea and Stonebanks in the sea. These are home to underwater species that require soft bottoms, such as the Baltic flat mussel, the great sand clam, bivalve molluscs and shrimps. Sandbanks are an important feeding ground for fish such as cod and plaice, as a diverse food base is readily available. In contrast, the rocky shoals in the sea are made up of boulders and dolomite slabs of different sizes. These shoals are mainly inhabited by bivalves, sea squirts, mussels, flounders, shrimps and algae, whose beds are important feeding grounds for spawning fish. Densely populated shoals are not only a suitable habitat for fish, including flounder and cod, but also for birds, as rocky shoals are an important feeding ground for them.

Exploring deeper offshore

What needs to happen for a marine area to be designated as protected? "There is no one particular species for which a marine protected area is created. Everything is assessed in a complex way. While the coastal waters of the Baltic Sea have been much less studied and assessed, the deep sea areas have not been studied at all," explains Ilze Sabule.

Until the end of 2024, the Nature Conservation Agency project "LIFE REEF" is carrying out scientific research work, studying in depth three new areas that could later be included in the existing network of protected areas. The largest of the new sites is Zēģelnieku shoals near Ventspils, the area closer to Pāvilosta, named Alki shoals because black auks tend to overwinter in this area, and the Pape forge near Liepāja, the bed of which is richly covered with stones and stacked stones. With the promotion of the three new sites to protected status in Latvian marine waters, the aim is to achieve 30% protection.

"We are currently exploring three new offshore sites. There are bird, fish and habitat surveys, scanning of the bottom relief, filming of habitats with and without diving and similar things, in other words, a complete inventory," says ornithologist Pēteris Daknis, an expert of the LIFE REEF project. "In order to create a protected area, you need to establish that at least 1% of 'our' biogeographic population is living there, so often this species inventory seems meagre, usually just a few species. However, this does not necessarily mean that there are no other species in the area. In general, MPAs are suitable as feeding and therefore resting areas for a variety of waterbird species. Unlike the rest of the water area, where wintering waterbirds are counted, these areas are also used for summer bird counts."

Although the coastline is not a marine protected area by law, these waters are also used by coastal nesting birds for feeding. It is therefore advisable to be careful along the coast during the breeding season, for example not to disturb the birds with dogs, to plan hikes along the sea in the second half of the summer when the birds have fledged, and not to go to the beach with motorised vehicles.

"Stowaways" in the Baltic Sea

As the climate, and therefore the sea waters, warm up, species migrate. Researchers are still finding out which species are newcomers to these areas as a result of climate change and how it affects the local fauna. Baltic Sea waters are already home to "stowaways", better known by the less flattering title "invasive species". The Chinese mitten crab, a voracious eater that damages the nets set by fishermen and also carries lung parasites dangerous to human health, has already come to us from the Far East. There are also mud crabs, which are likely to have arrived on ships from North America: they burrow into the bottom where other species live, eating worms and reducing the diet of native fish species. The bivalve, first found in the port of Liepaja but now also seen in Pavilosta, also comes from the distant Gulf of Mexico. Researchers assume that this species has migrated with the machinery needed for port dredging.

Sabule admits that the number of alien species in marine waters is difficult to determine: "Current estimates suggest that there could be around 220 alien species in the Baltic Sea, of which 17 to 18 species have established viable populations. One of the most popular newcomers is the roundnose grenadier. With its introduction from the Black Sea, this species has threatened the local bivalve populations by eating them. We are currently carrying out a population survey of round moray eels. We have tagged 8,000 round moray eels to determine population movements and behaviour." Everyone is also encouraged to report sightings of any invasive species by registering the sighting with the Invasive Species Manager.

How can I protect the Baltic Sea?

Today, the sensitive ecosystem of the Baltic Sea is suffering from the industrial lifestyle of mankind, a lifestyle that everyone shares responsibility for, both in their individual actions and in collective decisions. Ilze Sabule, project leader of the Marine Protected Habitats research project, says: "Marine waters have to cope with high human pressures such as recreation, transport, ports, fishing and overfishing. There is a growing interest in marine waters from those wishing to build wind farms and introduce aquaculture. According to studies and observations, the biggest negative impacts on the marine ecosystem are considered to be nutrient inputs and eutrophication, climate change and water browning. The most significant pollution to the sea comes from river runoff from agriculture, forestry and sewage installations. Individually, we can help the sea, if only by taking care of our natural needs in places where they belong, rather than in the water."

WWF encourages everyone to look at their own lifestyles by assessing their habits in food purchasing and consumption, personal hygiene, home and cottage maintenance and waste management. Here are some self-checkpoints! Eat fish that are not endangered. To find out which ones they are, take a look at the World Wildlife Fund's Fish Guide.

• Eat local food if possible.
• Shorter transport distances mean less nitrogen in the air, which contributes to eutrophication.
• Reduce meat consumption. Meat production produces large amounts of manure, which is the primary source of nutrients that cause eutrophication. Eating large quantities of animal products can also increase nitrogen levels in human urine, which pollutes the Baltic Sea even after treatment.
• Use eco-labelled cleaning and personal care products that are environmentally friendly - phosphate-free.
• Do not pour untreated household waste water outdoors.
• Do not use the sea, lakes and rivers to wash yourself or your car, as the substances in detergents contribute to fouling.
• Replace modern toilets with composting ones in summer homes to save water and energy and reduce nutrients more effectively.
• Ensure that summerhouse and sauna wastewater is treated before it ends up in the soil or in water reservoirs.
• Do not use synthetic pest control products in the garden - some of them end up in the sea.
• Only as much fertiliser is used as necessary - the excess ends up in water bodies where it encourages excessive algae growth.
• Make compost from organic waste.
• Burn only wood that has not been treated with synthetic substances, making sure that the ashes do not end up in the water.
• Build fires away from water to reduce ash entering the water and exacerbate eutrophication.
• Do not dump domestic sewage, rubbish or anything else that does not belong in the sea.
• Collect litter dumped in the environment.

Article created in collaboration with Delfi

Text by Kitija Balcere