With a new year ahead of us, it is time to look back at the foundation’s work in 2024. Our demonstration projects have taken several important steps forward, while the construction of the fish research laboratory has finally taken off – an initiative that will enable new research on some of the Baltic Sea’s most important fish species as early as 2025. As for fisheries policy, this year has been characterised by both hope and disappointment, but our work for a living Baltic Sea continues unabated.
ReCod enters an exciting new phase
It is now four years since the project ReCod – release of small cod in the Baltic Sea started at the Ar research station on Gotland. During these years, methods have been developed to keep cod, hatch cod larvae and release them at selected sites in the Baltic Sea. This year, around 250,000 cod larvae have been hatched at the station and released in Tvären and Gävle Bay, where they will hopefully strengthen the cod stock.
At the end of August, the last cod on Ar were released and the project is now on hold while the construction of BalticWater’s new research laboratory is completed. In connection with this, the project enters a new exciting phase. We are very pleased to have recruited Ellen Schagerström as project manager for the continuation of the project. Under her leadership, the next challenge will be to breed cod larvae into small fish for release. The goal is to find the age and size of fish best suited for release.
Did you know that research is also being carried out under ReCod? Read more about the projects here.
Why are Baltic cod not recovering? We have investigated this in a feeding experiment, read a summary of the experiment here.
Cod back in the Baltic Sea. Photo: Madeleine Kullenbo
Release of cod larvae in Gävle Bay. Video: Niklas Niemi
The journey towards a unique laboratory
During the year, the construction of BalticWater’s fish research laboratory has taken several important steps forward. Two years have passed since the first conceptual sketches were presented and in August the first sod was finally turned on the site in Studsvik, outside Nyköping. A lot has already happened since then! The foundations for a new laboratory building have been laid, frames have been erected and now the roof is finally resting in place over the newly erected walls. Construction will continue through 2025 and the laboratory is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
In addition to housing the foundation’s large-scale project ReCod – release of small cod in the Baltic Sea, it is also clear what the first external research project will be in the new laboratory. Already in the autumn, Leif Andersson, a geneticist at Uppsala University, and his research team will start their project in the laboratory with the aim of investigating which genes are behind the herring’s incredible ability to adapt to different environments.
Illustration: Louisa Juvall Molin
Full-scale trials of Thriving Bays restoration measures
2024 has been an eventful year for the Thriving bays project to say the least! Researchers have conducted full-scale remediation trials in two of the project bays. In Högklykeviken on Gräsö, the researchers have used aluminium treatment to bind phosphorus in the sediments and thereby counteract eutrophication. In parallel, an erosion barrier has been built to reduce the supply of nutrients and particles to the bay. In Långbroviken on Värmdö, an artificial estuary threshold was installed for a few months to investigate whether reduced erosion can improve water quality.
In 2025, the researchers will continue to evaluate the implemented measures and collect further data to deepen the understanding of the processes underlying the environmental state of the bays – and how it can be improved.
Read more about the latest progress of the project here.
On the left: The boat used for aluminium treatment in Högklykeviken. On the right: Håkan, accompanied by Gorm, building the erosion protection. Photo: Linda Kumblad, BalticWaters/Stockholm University.
The hunt for the biofertiliser of the future continues – all around the Baltic Sea
The foundation’s project Circular NP – Better nutrient cycle for animal manure is now in its final year and will end in March 2025. During the year, the researchers have, among other things, continued to test the recycled fertiliser products developed within the project. Developing the products has been an extensive, multi-step process, and once the final trials have been completed, it will be time to put all the project’s components together in a final report.
But even though the project will soon come to an end, the search for the biofertiliser of the future will continue – and on a larger scale. In the CiNURGi project, the project team will build on the results and products developed in Circular NP. The project has been granted around SEK 70 million in funding from the EU Interreg programme and brings together 24 partners and 13 associated organisations from eight countries around the Baltic Sea. We think it’s exciting!
Read more in the latest project news here.
To the left: The More Biogas plant outside Kalmar, where Circular NP has implemented a number of case studies. Right: Erik Sindhöj, senior researcher at RISE, with a dry phosphorus-rich fraction. Photos: Helene Limén.
Advocacy for viable fish stocks
During the year, policymakers have taken small steps in the right direction. Last summer, the Swedish Government presented a bill for a living sea, whose proposed direction for the marine environment policy was recently approved by the Swedish Parliament. Before Christmas, it was announced that the Government is instructing the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management to begin work on moving the trawl limit throughout the Baltic Sea in 2025.
After the turn of the year, further proposals are expected from the government that have the potential to strengthen the Baltic Sea environment and promote fish populations, including increased protection in marine protected areas.
But 2024 was also the year when the fishing quota for herring in the central Baltic Sea was increased by 108 per cent, and the quota for sprat was set at such a high level that it is likely to contravene fisheries legislation.
The Swedish government, led by Minister for Rural Affairs Kullgren, has sought to reduce quotas and engage in dialogue with our neighbours to reduce fishing pressure. Now it is a matter of holding on and persevering – to significantly improve the situation for the fish in the Baltic Sea, our neighbours must join Sweden’s position.
Read more about the fisheries policy in 2024 in our published Baltic Sea Briefs.
Photo: Azote Library
Knowledge building programmes for a living Baltic Sea
To promote research and increase knowledge about the Baltic Sea, the foundation has continued to award funds to projects with the potential to contribute to a living Baltic Sea. In 2024, the foundation awarded a total of around SEK 4 million to four new projects under the Program for research projects and pre-studies. At the same time, five fellows were awarded under the Scholarship program for early career researchers, where the foundation awarded around SEK 800,000. Read more about this year’s grantees and their projects here.
This year’s trainees Tove, Jonathan and Klara on Gotland. Photo: Helene Limén
During the autumn, we have also had the pleasure of having three trainees at the foundation: Klara Livsey Berg, Jonathan Pluntke and Tove Brynteson. Based on their subject knowledge in environmental law, business administration and tourism science, they chose during their time with us to write a policy document focusing on ‘Maritime tourism on the Baltic Sea’s terms’, which will be publish in January – stay tuned! If you would like to know more about the trainee programme, take a look here.
In 2024, we have also organised a third round of our scholarship competition for school classes in grades 7-9. This year, two winning school classes were selected to travel to Stockholm to visit Skansen’s Baltic Sea Science Center to learn more about the ecology of the Baltic Sea and discuss both environmental challenges and possible solutions. Read a report from their study visit here!
Raising awareness of the Baltic Sea
We are convinced that awareness of our inland sea needs to be raised in order for the necessary decisions to be taken and actions to be implemented. The foundation therefore works continuously to spread knowledge and create commitment to the Baltic Sea among decision-makers, journalists and the public – for example by producing a variety of reports and articles.
In 2024, we explored, among other things, why it is so difficult to comply with current regulations in the marine environment field. This work culminated in the report A policy for a healthy Baltic Sea, where we compiled literature and interviews with seven of the eight political parties. In addition, we have also produced a number of Deep Dives on various Baltic Sea-related topics, including the link between the Baltic Sea and the climate and how the debate on Baltic Sea fisheries has evolved over time. We have also continued to bust various myths in our series of articles Murky waters.
Explore more of our publications here.
Are you interested in supporting our work or one of our projects? Learn more about how you can contribute here.
Do you represent a company or organization and want to explore other opportunities for collaboration? Read about how you can become a Sea Friend or Sea Partner to the foundation here.
