Background

The 2025 UN Ocean Conference will be held in Nice, France from 9–13 June 2025. The Conference aims to accelerate action and mobilize all actors to conserve and sustainably use the ocean. The Conference will involve all relevant stakeholders to assess challenges and opportunities relating to, as well as actions taken towards, the implementation of Goal 14. The Conference will feature ten Ocean Action Panels, each focused on key themes essential for the sustainable use of our oceans. Increasing ocean-related scientific cooperation, knowledge, capacity building, marine technology, and education to strengthen the sciencepolicy interface for ocean health. Concept papers for each of the themes of the Ocean Action Panels will be prepared in preparation for the Conference. Stakeholders are asked for each theme to answer some questions.

Stockholm University Baltic Sea Centre input

Input stem from this paper, developed by researchers at the Baltic Sea Centre in 2024. Transformative action that needs to happen to overcome the challenges and to create better conditions to accelerate progress in achieving the theme “Fostering sustainable fisheries management including supporting small-scale fishers.”:

• As a general rule in fisheries management, set commercial catch limits at a maximum of 50 per cent of Maximal Sustainable Yield. See Policy briefs and fact sheets from Stockholm University Baltic Sea Centre 
• Close more and larger areas for bottom trawling. Bottom trawling threatens European marine ecosystems. 
• Stop all fishing for European eel in all life stages, and stop restocking. Stop all fishing and restocking of European eel (1426 Kb) . 

Transformative action that needs to happen to overcome the challenges and to create better conditions to accelerate progress in achieving the theme “Conserving, sustainably managing, and restoring marine and coastal ecosystems including deep-sea ecosystems”:

• Establish well-managed marine protected areas and provide adequate protection in existing ones. 
• Promote active restoration of important and valuable coastal habitats in degraded areas. Skydda och restaurera – så kan vi rädda kustens ekosystem.
• Allocate resources for monitoring and evaluation of restoration projects and protected areas. See Bevara och utveckla miljöövervakningens långa tidsserier.
• Establish more no-take zones to protect stocks and ecosystems. See Inför fler fiskefria områden för att skydda bestånd och ekosystem.

Transformative action that needs to happen to overcome the challenges and to create better conditions to accelerate progress in achieving the theme “Preventing and significantly reducing marine pollution of all kinds, in particular from land-based activities.”:

• Promote nutrient circularity in agriculture through local balance between crop and livestock production. Effective reduction of nitrogen loads requires targeted measures and How changes in farm structure could help reduce nutrient leakage to the Baltic Sea.
• Promote on-farm measures to reduce nutrient leaching and soil erosion. Further landbased measures are needed to reach eutrophication targets and Multifunctional wetlands - reality or utopia?
• Limit livestock density in leaching prone areas. Include nutrient load from horse farms in eutrophication work.
• Ensure efficient sewage treatment, particularly in environmentally sensitive areas. Effects of the new UWWTD on nutrient inputs to the Baltic Sea.

Eutrophication is one of the main threats against the Baltic Sea but also other marine areas. We would like to see more focus on reducing eutrophication in this conference. In order to reduce the heavy load of pollutant entering the seas we would also like to see:

• Improved environmental monitoring of new hazardous chemicals in the Baltic Sea.
• All chemical data and assessments made publicly available to allow third party scrutiny. European chemicals regulation needs greater transparency.
• Introduction of a safety margin by a factor of 10 in risk assessment to address chemical mixtures. Time for smarter and safer chemical management.
• A ban all PFAS, with only few and time-limited exemptions for those with essential uses.
• Advanced waste water treatment Call for better management of micropollutants in wastewater. 

Transformative action that needs to happen to overcome the challenges and to create better conditions to accelerate progress in achieving the theme ”Leveraging ocean, climate, and biodiversity interlinkages.”:

• Reduce emissions of greenhouse gases globally, including from marine activities such as shipping and fishing.
• Reduce pressures on the coastal environment to increase its resilience to climate change and acidification, to increase its ability to store carbon, and to minimise methane emissions. Reducing eutrophication crucial to prevent coastal methane emissions and Healthy coastal ecosystems are crucial to mitigate climate change.
• Include carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas emissions from the sea in carbon accounting Transformative action that needs to happen to overcome the challenges and to create better conditions to accelerate progress in achieving the theme “Advancing sustainable ocean-based economies, sustainable maritime transport, and coastal community resilience leaving no one behind.”:
• Avoid placing windmills in important wildlife areas and take measures to reduce the risk of bird collisions. Rapport 6488 – Vindval – Vindkraftens effekter på marint liv with English summary.

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Baltic Sea Centre input to the Global Online Stakeholder Consultation (345 Kb)