WWF, Moscow 19 May 2010: Implementation of the Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP) is lagging far behind the agreed timetable in many important areas. Protection of the Baltic Sea marine environment is still lacking concrete decisive actions. These are two main conclusion of a report produced for WWF before the HELCOM Ministerial Meeting in Moscow 20 May.

WWF has released a report on the distribution of so called “spring blooms” in the Baltic Sea. In 2009, the northern Baltic Proper witnessed the strongest spring bloom of the past 15 years, with production peaking just a few weeks ago. The spring blooms are well known to scientists, but as they take place from March to May when not so many people are out on (or in) the sea, their impact on the environment is not well known or discussed outside of scientific circles.

ECC, an organization representing the major cruise companies operating in Europe, in a press release committed to stop dumping their waste water in the Baltic Sea when certain conditions are met. These conditions include “adequate port reception facilities which operate under a ‘no special fee’ agreement”.

Only 3% of the areas of all wetlands and inland waters around the Baltic Sea have legal protection according to the RAMSAR convention, WWF reveals in a report released end of October, 2008. Denmark, Estonia and Latvia are exceptions with between 7 and 20 % protected. Latvia comes in 3rd place on the list with 7, 9 % protected.

Fish from some areas of the Baltic Sea are so contaminated that they may be too toxic for EU markets, warns WWF, the global conservation organisation. According to a new report, Clean Baltic within REACH?, every year from the late 1980s to early 1990s, 31 kg of polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs) accumulated in the fish caught from the Baltic Sea, and almost certainly ended up on people's plates.

The overall goal of the programme is to reverse and to stop the degradation of Latvian freshwater resources and the Baltic Sea.