Premiers in Almedalen on 30th June.
The environmental impact of shipping in the Baltic Sea is not widely known. How have decades of unclean air emissions affected the people and the sea? Why are passengers on cruise ships allowed to defecate into the Baltic Sea? How can that be tolerated and who can put a stop to it? Following acclaimed and award-winning films about fishing, eutrophication and chemicals, Folke Rydén is now releasing his fourth film about the Baltic Sea.
Skansen and BalticSea2020 are starting a collaboration to save the Baltic and make it a much healthier sea. This is an investment of 100 million SEK with the aim of creating an educational centre for both school classes and everyone else visiting Skansen. Visitors will be able to experience the condition of the Baltic Sea beneath its surface in newly created aquariums and will have the opportunity to discover previously unknown aspects of the Baltic in displays and laboratories. Our ambition is to increase people’s awareness of how the 90 million people who live in the Baltic Sea region can improve the conditions for a cleaner inland sea.
The Second Wave has been awarded The Best Story in the 13th NaturVision Film Festival in Ludwigsburg, Germany. Producer of the film, Folke Rydén, attended to receive the price.
The size of the cod in the Baltic Sea has declined dramatically over the past 20 years, writes Dagens Nyheter (daily newspaper) according to new Swedish research published yesterday. Henrik Svedäng, associate professor at the Marine Research Laboratory in Lysekil, says to Dagens Nyheter that the fish certainly are many, but that they indicate deteriorating growth.
BalticSea2020 wants to congratulate Joakim Odelberg and Peter Juhlin for receiving the South Coast Water Association water conservation prize. The prize is awarded each year to reward commendable efforts and increased awareness which contributes to a sustainable marine environment along the south coast of Sweden. Odelberg and his team received the prize for their work against ghost nets in the Baltic Sea.
BalticSea2020 wants to congratulate Professor Daniel Conley who has been awarded a prestigious prize from an international organization - ASLO (Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography) called the Ruth Patrick Award. Daniel Conley received the award due to his efforts to understand hypoxia and to examine ways to address the problem.
BalticSea2020 wants to congratulate Peter Feuerbach and Johan Strand from the Swedish Rural Economy and Agricultural Societies in Halland, who has received an award from The Swedish Species Information Centre, at the Flora and Fauna conference 2014 in Uppsala.
Stickleback populations has increased sharply in the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Bothnia. It is also a species that currently has no commercial value. With support from the BalticSea2020 foundation, researchers at Umeå University are considering the possibility of commercially fishing stickleback to provide fish feed.
In the journal International Innovation Professor Birgitta Bergman talks about the research project Microbial populations in the Baltic Sea, a project in co-operation with Dr Craig Venter. The project aims to examine the microorganisms in the Baltic Sea and how they are affected by external changes and how they in turn affect life in and around the sea.
On account of the implementation of the new Common Fishery Policy, Jan-Olof Larsson (responsible for fisheries policy of the Social Democrats in Sweden) and BalticSea2020 have written an article focusing on the introduction of the so-called discard ban (that all fish caught must be landed and counted against the quota) in Sweden.
On February 10, you can see Joakim Odelbergs and Leofilms documentary on ghost nets. The documentary airs at 20:00 in the World of Science (SVT2). Ghost nets are discarded fishing gear that continues to catch fish for decades, affecting the size of the fish population, causing suffering to wildlife and unforgivable destruction of our common natural resources.
The Swedish cod fishery in the eastern Baltic, fished with ground lines, is once again MSC certified. After three months with withdrawn certificate, they got back the proof that they are operating sustainably. What was missing earlier was an explanation if there were birds in the by-catch - which they now have adjust.
The Eastern Baltic cod fishery has become the first fishery from Poland to enter into assessment against the MSC standard for well-managed and sustainable fisheries. It will be assessed against the 31 indicators of the MSC standard covering stock abundance, the impacts of the fishery on the marine ecosystem, and the management of the fishery. The assessment will be conducted by a team of independent scientists under the lead of a third-party certifier. If successful, the fishery will be eligible to show the blue MSC ecolabel on its cod catch from the Eastern Baltic Sea. The MSC logo is the world’s best known mark for sustainably caught fish, with consumer recognition in major European markets of 23 to 55 per cent.
Between September 8 and 12 2013 Trelleborg Municipality picked up 20 km fishing gears from the water east and west of Smygehuk in south of Swden. The work is part of the project "Ghost nets outside Smygehamn" initiated by Sten Björk, vice president of Trelleborg Municipality's Development Coorporation, and funded by BalticSea2020 and of The Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management.
BalticSea2020 has met three parliamentarians from Fish for the Future, who talks about their views on the new Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). Meet the MEPs Isabella Lövin, Christofer Fjellner and Chris Davies, who before the voting on February 6, 2013 have worked hard to ensure that the Parliament will support a fisheries legislation that value profitable and sustainable fisheries. Read the entire article here.
Ahead of the European Parliament voting on the fisheries subsidies next week, we want you to observe the article "Dead ahead, a plague of zombie trawlers sucking life from the sea", by Charles Clover, The Sunday Times.
The study guide for the film The Second Wave is now available on our website. The Second Wave, which deals with environmental toxins in the Baltic Sea, is the third documentary in the Foundation's ten-year media project The Baltic Sea Media Project. The study is based on the documentary, and gives examples of different ways to deal with issues related to the Baltic Sea.
Nutrient runoff from agriculture is the main contributor to eutrophication in the Baltic Sea, with many projects being conducted on this subject. However, knowledge has often not reached or been put into use by the majority of farmers around the Baltic Sea. A new project, funded by the BalticSea2020 foundation, has the farmers’ own commitment and knowledge as its starting point. Eutrophication is to be reduced through advisory services and network building.
Monday, May 6, 2013, the documentary The second wave by Folke Rydén airs on "Vetenskapens värld", SVT2 (Television of Sweden). The film is the third documentary within the Baltic Sea Media Project. The film investigates toxic chemicals found in and around the Baltic Sea, in wildlife and in human bodies.
On April 15, board member Sten Gustafsson retired for reasons of age. BalticSea2020 appreciate Stens important and dedicated contribution to the Board during the years 2006 to 2013. Sten has by virtue of his long experience and knowledge, been a great support to both the Board and the Foundation. The successor of Sten Gustafsson is Eva Carlson.