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Environmental conflicts of interest are important to account for when environmental policies are designed. This paper explores the quantitative connection between urban waste water treatment, coastal eutrophication, and fish biomass in the mesotrophic Gulf of Riga (northern Europe). The probable effect on the water quality from one clearly defined abatement measure, improved urban sewage treatment has been studied. Furthermore, the implementation cost and the likely effect on total fish biomass have also been assessed. Computer simulations using the previously published model CoastMab suggested that good water quality according to the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive could be achieved if urban sewage treatment would be upgraded to Nordic and German standards, and not only around the Gulf of Riga but in the whole Baltic Sea drainage basin. The Secchi depth would double according to these simulations while total phosphorus and summer chlorophyll concentrations would decrease by 54% and 53%, respectively. The total fish biomass should be expected to decrease by about 42% if "good" water quality (as defined in European Union directives) should be achieved. However, changes in total fish biomass could also be offset by changes in other important determinants such as climate related variables or fishing pressure. The study estimated that it could take about 20-40 years after abatement action for the trophic state in the Gulf to stabilise again. Upgrading urban sewage treatment to this extent would cost 468-1,118 million euros per year. Treatment could have substantial positive effects on the water quality of the Gulf but could also have adverse side effects on the total fish biomass.

Human activities have fundamentally altered the structure and function of many marine ecosystems worldwide (Halpern et al. 2008). These activities have diverse and widespread effects on ecosystem services; i.e., the benefits which people get from ecosystems, and which concurrently serve as preconditions of human activities related to the sea (Bryhn et al., 2015). The purpose of this work is to develop approaches for analysing the relationships between the human use of marine waters and ecosystem services, focusing on the Swedish coast as well as the entire Baltic Sea. We also aim at providing an updated assessment of pressures on ecosystem services along the Swedish coastline, building on earlier work (Bryhn et al. 2015). The central goal is to examine how different activities impose impact and are dependent on (to what extent they use) ecosystem services. The linkages are explored using quantitative data where possible and expert judgements when quantitative data are lacking. Basically, the DPSIR (Driver –Pressure –State change –Impact –Response) approach (Fig. 1) is followed. DPSIR is a framework for describing causal relationships in the interaction between the society and the environment. It has been widely discussed and debated but has proven to work well at many different occasions as it can be understood by various people from scientists and politicians to local stakeholder groups (Atkins et al. 2011, Patrício et al. 2016). For the purposes of this work, the first four letters "DPSI" are of most interest. Here, D represents Drivers (focusing on secondary drivers as human activities), P stands for the Pressures from human activities (acting on the ecosystem), S stands for State (as the changes imposed by pressures on ecosystem components)and finally, I stands for Impact on ecosystem services (Atkins et al. 2011). Note that this report uses activities and drivers (D) as synonyms.

AbstractUnderstanding and communicating the links among human activities and marine ecosystem services are fundamental for ecosystem-based management, which aims at attaining ecological, economic and social sustainability in the use of our seas. Relationships are typically complex and may differ between geographic areas. Here, an assessment model that combines available quantitative, semi-quantitative and qualitative information, rooted in the DAPSIR (Driver—Activity—Pressure—State—Impact—Response) framework and assessment requirements of the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive, is developed and applied. Focusing on Swedish marine waters, major human activities at sea are evaluated in relation to their dependencies and impacts on the status of marine ecosystem services. This case study is a consensus assessment based on evaluation of available literature and data. By relating degrees of dependencies and impacts to values of different economic sectors, discrepancies among sectors with respect to their impact versus their monetary value can be identified. In our case, commercial fishing depends on and influences a wide range of ecosystem services, while other sectors, such as shipping, depend little on marine ecosystem services. At the extreme end of the range, pressures from human activities in the past, such as historical nutrient emissions, still have prominent influence on ecosystem services today, entailing considerable losses. Marine tourism and commercial fishing show similar dependencies on ecosystem services, but tourism has a clearly lower impact on ecosystem services and a higher monetary value. The model may serve as a useful tool for communicating and guiding priorities in integrated environmental management and maritime spatial planning.

For decades, the population of the European eel has been in severe decline. In 2007, the European Union decided on a Regulation establishing measures for the recovery of the stock, which obliged Member States to implement a national Eel Management Plan by 2009. Sweden submitted its plan in 2008. According to the Regulation, Member States shall report regularly to the EU-Commission, on the implementation of their Eel Management Plans and the progress achieved in protection and restoration. The current report provides an assessment of the eel stock in Sweden as of spring 2021, intending to feed into the national reporting to the EU later this year. This report updates and extends the reports by Dekker (2012, 2015) and Dekker et al. (2018). In this report, the impacts on the stock - of fishing, restocking and mortality related to hydropower generation - are assessed. Other anthropogenic impacts (climate change, pollution, increased impacts of predators, spread of parasites, disruption of migration due to disorientation after transport, and so forth) probably have an impact on the stock too, but these factors are hardly quantifiable and no management targets have been set. For that reason, and because most factors were not included in the EU Eel Regulation, these other factors are not included in this technical evaluation. Our focus is on the quantification of biomass of silver eel escaping from continental waters towards the ocean (current, current potential and pristine) and mortality risks endured by those eels during their whole lifetime. The assessment is broken down on a geographical basis, with different impacts dominating in different areas (west coast, inland waters, Baltic coast). In 2011, a break in the downward trend of the number of glass eel was observed throughout Europe, the trend since being upward, but erratic. Whether that relates to recent protective actions, or is due to other factors, is yet unclear. This report contributes to the required international assessment, but does not discuss the ...

The implementation challenge of ecosystem-based (fisheries) management (EB(F)M) has entailed calls for integrated governance (IG) approaches in the marine field. We arranged an expert workshop to study the preconditions and applicability of IG, and to suggest how IG could be arranged in practice. Focusing on the management of the dioxin problem shared by the herring and salmon fisheries in the Baltic Sea, and using a coupled 'insight network'- SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) methodology, we evaluated two scenarios: 1) IG of herring and salmon fisheries to benefit from collaboration between these fisheries that suffer from the same problem, and 2) IG between the fisheries sector and the food/public health sector to incorporate food safety in fisheries governance. Our results demonstrate that a variety of societal, political, institutional, operational, instrumental, and biological factors affect the applicability of IG in marine contexts, and work as preconditions for IG. While societal needs for IG were obvious in our case, as major challenges for it we identified the competing cross-sectoral objectives, path dependencies, and limitations of experts to think and work across fields. The study suggests that establishing an IG framework by adding new aspects upon the current governance structures may be easier to accept and adapt to, than creating new strategic or advisory bodies or other new capacities. Viewing IG as a framework for understanding cross-sectoral issues instead of one that requires a defined level and form of integrated assessment and management may be a way towards social learning, and thereby towards the implementation of more sophisticated, open and broad EB(F)M frameworks. ; publishedVersion ; Peer reviewed

The implementation challenge of ecosystem-based (fisheries) management (EB(F)M) has entailed calls for integrated governance (IG) approaches in the marine field. We arranged an expert workshop to study the preconditions and applicability of IG, and to suggest how IG could be arranged in practice. Focusing on the management of the dioxin problem shared by the herring and salmon fisheries in the Baltic Sea, and using a coupled 'insight network'- SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) methodology, we evaluated two scenarios: 1) IG of herring and salmon fisheries to benefit from collaboration between these fisheries that suffer from the same problem, and 2) IG between the fisheries sector and the food/public health sector to incorporate food safety in fisheries governance. Our results demonstrate that a variety of societal, political, institutional, operational, instrumental, and biological factors affect the applicability of IG in marine contexts, and work as preconditions for IG. While societal needs for IG were obvious in our case, as major challenges for it we identified the competing cross-sectoral objectives, path dependencies, and limitations of experts to think and work across fields. The study suggests that establishing an IG framework by adding new aspects upon the current governance structures may be easier to accept and adapt to, than creating new strategic or advisory bodies or other new capacities. Viewing IG as a framework for understanding cross-sectoral issues instead of one that requires a defined level and form of integrated assessment and management may be a way towards social learning, and thereby towards the implementation of more sophisticated, open and broad EB(F)M frameworks. ; The implementation challenge of ecosystem-based (fisheries) management (EB(F)M) has entailed calls for integrated governance (IG) approaches in the marine field. We arranged an expert workshop to study the preconditions and applicability of IG, and to suggest how IG could be arranged in practice. ...

The implementation challenge of ecosystem-based (fisheries) management (EB(F)M) has entailed calls for integrated governance (IG) approaches in the marine field. We arranged an expert workshop to study the preconditions and applicability of IG, and to suggest how IG could be arranged in practice. Focusing on the management of the dioxin problem shared by the herring and salmon fisheries in the Baltic Sea, and using a coupled 'insight network'- SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) methodology, we evaluated two scenarios: 1) IG of herring and salmon fisheries to benefit from collaboration between these fisheries that suffer from the same problem, and 2) IG between the fisheries sector and the food/public health sector to incorporate food safety in fisheries governance. Our results demonstrate that a variety of societal, political, institutional, operational, instrumental, and biological factors affect the applicability of IG in marine contexts, and work as preconditions for IG. While societal needs for IG were obvious in our case, as major challenges for it we identified the competing cross-sectoral objectives, path dependencies, and limitations of experts to think and work across fields. The study suggests that establishing an IG framework by adding new aspects upon the current governance structures may be easier to accept and adapt to, than creating new strategic or advisory bodies or other new capacities. Viewing IG as a framework for understanding cross-sectoral issues instead of one that requires a defined level and form of integrated assessment and management may be a way towards social learning, and thereby towards the implementation of more sophisticated, open and broad EB(F)M frameworks.

The implementation challenge of ecosystem-based (fisheries) management (EB(F)M) has entailed calls for integrated governance (IG) approaches in the marine field. We arranged an expert workshop to study the preconditions and applicability of IG, and to suggest how IG could be arranged in practice. Focusing on the management of the dioxin problem shared by the herring and salmon fisheries in the Baltic Sea, and using a coupled 'insight network'- SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) methodology, we evaluated two scenarios: 1) IG of herring and salmon fisheries to benefit from collaboration between these fisheries that suffer from the same problem, and 2) IG between the fisheries sector and the food/public health sector to incorporate food safety in fisheries governance. Our results demonstrate that a variety of societal, political, institutional, operational, instrumental, and biological factors affect the applicability of IG in marine contexts, and work as preconditions for IG. While societal needs for IG were obvious in our case, as major challenges for it we identified the competing cross-sectoral objectives, path dependencies, and limitations of experts to think and work across fields. The study suggests that establishing an IG framework by adding new aspects upon the current governance structures may be easier to accept and adapt to, than creating new strategic or advisory bodies or other new capacities. Viewing IG as a framework for understanding cross-sectoral issues instead of one that requires a defined level and form of integrated assessment and management may be a way towards social learning, and thereby towards the implementation of more sophisticated, open and broad EB(F)M frameworks. ; Peer reviewed

The implementation challenge of ecosystem-based (fisheries) management (EB(F)M) has entailed calls for integrated governance (IG) approaches in the marine field. We arranged an expert workshop to study the preconditions and applicability of IG, and to suggest how IG could be arranged in practice. Focusing on the management of the dioxin problem shared by the herring and salmon fisheries in the Baltic Sea, and using a coupled 'insight network'- SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) methodology, we evaluated two scenarios: 1) IG of herring and salmon fisheries to benefit from collaboration between these fisheries that suffer from the same problem, and 2) IG between the fisheries sector and the food/public health sector to incorporate food safety in fisheries governance. Our results demonstrate that a variety of societal, political, institutional, operational, instrumental, and biological factors affect the applicability of IG in marine contexts, and work as preconditions for IG. While societal needs for IG were obvious in our case, as major challenges for it we identified the competing cross-sectoral objectives, path dependencies, and limitations of experts to think and work across fields. The study suggests that establishing an IG framework by adding new aspects upon the current governance structures may be easier to accept and adapt to, than creating new strategic or advisory bodies or other new capacities. Viewing IG as a framework for understanding cross-sectoral issues instead of one that requires a defined level and form of integrated assessment and management may be a way towards social learning, and thereby towards the implementation of more sophisticated, open and broad EB(F)M frameworks. ; Peer reviewed

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are an important tool for management and conservation and play an increasingly recognised role in societal and human well-being. However, the assessment of MPAs often lacks a simultaneous consideration of ecological and socio-economic outcomes, and this can lead to misconceptions on the effectiveness of MPAs. In this perspective, we present a transdisciplinary approach based on the Delphi method for mapping and evaluating Marine Protected Areas for their ability to protect biodiversity while providing Ecosystem Services (ES) and related human well-being benefits - i.e., the ecosystem outputs from which people benefit. We highlight the need to include the human dimensions of marine protection in such assessments, given that the effectiveness of MPAs over time is conditional on the social, cultural and institutional contexts in which MPAs evolve. Our approach supports Ecosystem-Based Management and highlights the importance of MPAs in achieving restoration, conservation, and sustainable development objectives in relation to EU Directives such as the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), the Maritime Spatial Planning Directive (MSPD), and the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP).

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are an important tool for management and conservation and play an increasingly recognised role in societal and human well-being. However, the assessment of MPAs often lacks a simultaneous consideration of ecological and socio-economic outcomes, and this can lead to misconceptions on the effectiveness of MPAs. In this perspective, we present a transdisciplinary approach based on the Delphi method for mapping and evaluating Marine Protected Areas for their ability to protect biodiversity while providing Ecosystem Services (ES) and related human well-being benefits – i.e., the ecosystem outputs from which people benefit. We highlight the need to include the human dimensions of marine protection in such assessments, given that the effectiveness of MPAs over time is conditional on the social, cultural and institutional contexts in which MPAs evolve. Our approach supports Ecosystem-Based Management and highlights the importance of MPAs in achieving restoration, conservation, and sustainable development objectives in relation to EU Directives such as the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), the Maritime Spatial Planning Directive (MSPD), and the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) ; This perspective is part of the project "Evaluating Marine Protected Areas from a sustainability perspective" funded by the Swedish Institute for the Marine Environment (SIME), University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden ; SI