Baltic Sea remains far from environmental targets

The Baltic Sea remains well short of its environmental targets, the Finnish Environment Institute Syke said, according to Yle.

Syke conducted two monitoring voyages in the Baltic Sea in August. Preliminary results indicate that nutrient concentrations in the open sea were mostly at the same level as in previous years in the Gulf of Finland, the Bothnian Sea, the Bothnian Bay and the northern part of the Baltic Proper.

The seabed is regularly oxygen-free in deeper areas of the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Proper. Oxygen depletion is also occurring in water layers close to the seabed. This year, oxygen depletion in these near-bottom layers covered a wider area than before.

Excessive nutrient loading increases algae production and can worsen oxygen conditions near the seabed. Nutrients enter the sea from land, particularly through agriculture.

The goal of water management is to achieve and maintain at least good status for waters and the sea.

According to the Ministry of the Environment, good status has been achieved in some coastal waters, including the outer coastal waters of the Bothnian Sea off Merikarvia and Pori, and Östra Gloppet in the Kvarken. The status of coastal waters along the Bothnian Sea, however, declined from good to satisfactory.