Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission
Baltic Sea Pilot Project: Testing new concepts for integrated
environmental monitoring of the Baltic Sea, WP1
BALSAM 2/2014, 2-1
Tallinn, Estonia, 7 May 2014
Document title
Agenda Item
Submission date
Submitted by
2-1 Progress report of BALSAM
[Agenda item #] Project Progress during the first six months
30.4.2014
Secretariat
Baltic Sea Pilot Project: Testing new concepts for integrated environmental
monitoring of the Baltic Sea (BALSAM) – progress report
This document summarizes the activities carried out in the BALSAM project and gives an overview of the
next steps and project deliverables.
Action
The Meeting is invited to:
-discuss the project progress
-plan the next project deliverables, especially on proposals for monitoring programmes
Baltic Sea Pilot Project: Testing new concepts for integrated environmental
monitoring of the Baltic Sea (BALSAM) – progress report
Background
The BALSAM project (October 2013 - March 2015) aims to enhance the capacity of the Baltic Sea states to
develop their monitoring programmes by increasing and improving cross-border coordination and joint
activities, especially related to monitoring of biodiversity. The project is one of the three “New Knowledge”
pilot projects, the other two projects being in the North Sea (JMP NS/CS) and Mediterranean and Black Sea
(IRIS-SES).
The BALSAM project consortium includes 19 partners (Annex 1) and is coordinated by the HELCOM
Secretariat. The project is supervised by HELCOM GEAR and the project steering group, consisting of the
Project Coordinator, Professional Secretary and Work Package leaders. The project activities have been
organised into six work packages (WP) and the focus areas are on fisheries and environmental monitoring
(WP2), seals and seabirds (WP3), non-indigenous species (WP4), benthic habitats (WP6) and coordinated
use of research vessels (WP5) in the Baltic (Annex 2).
General activities
The project kick-off meeting was held on 14-15 November 2013 in the HELCOM Secretariat (Annex 3) and
most of the work packages have also held internal meetings (Table 1).
The three New Knowledge pilot projects have joint deliverables to the European Commission: a Catalogue
of current environmental monitoring (spring 2014) and an assessment of how current monitoring responds
to the needs of the MSFD with recommendations for integrated environmental monitoring. In the first
progress report to be delivered by the end of May 2014, BALSAM will present a draft Catalogue of current
environmental monitoring in the Baltic, which has been gathered in close collaboration with the HELCOM
MORE project in order to avoid any duplication of work, as requested by HELCOM GEAR. The monitoring
Catalogue will provide input to the on-going revision of HELCOM’s coordinated monitoring system and to
the online HELCOM monitoring manual (developed within the MORE project). The next deliverable, the
proposals for integrated environmental monitoring, should be presented in a report in November 2014. It
was agreed in the HELCOM MORE 9/2014 meeting that since BALSAM has expertise in fisheries and data
flows, seals and seabirds, non-indigenous species and benthic habitats, these recommendations could be
taken on board in MORE when revising HELCOM’s coordinated monitoring system.
Table 1. Meetings held within the BALSAM project.
Meeting name
Steering group
meeting
WP6 kick off
meeting
WP3 meeting
WP4 technical
workshop
WP2
coordination call
BALSAM kick-off
meeting
Purpose of the meeting
To plan the activities for WP3
To share experiences on port survey
methodology and plan the work within
WP4
To initiate the WP2 activities
Partners/Stakeholders
involved
HELCOM, AU, BEF,
TUT
BEF, Aquabiota, LIAE,
EMI, CORPI
AU, SMNH, EFN,
HELCOM, SYKE, BSH,
UT, WMU, LIAE,
Geomar
HELCOM, ICES
To initiate and coordinate the project
activities and to bring the project
HELCOM, AU, ICES,
TUT, SYKE, FGFRI,
To plan the project and project
coordination
To initiate and plan the activities in WP6
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Location
Dates
Skype
20.9.2013
Latvia
4.10.13
Copenhagen
Helsinki
15.10.13
17.10.13
WEbex
1.11.13
Helsinki
14-15.11.13
partners together.
WP2 task force
meeting
Steering group
meeting
WP4
coordination call
WP6 meeting
Steering group
meeting
Steering group
meeting
To plan the WP2 deliverables and
activities further
To plan the project deliverables,
especially the catalogue of monitoring
and reporting deadlines
To coordinate and plan the work in WP4
To plan the catalogue and collecting
information on surveys
To plan the work on the catalogue and
first reporting
To plan the finalisation of the catalogue
and the BALSAM WP1 meeting on 7 May
2014.
IOW, BEF, JMP NS/CS,
IMGW, SMHI, Russian
State
Hydrometeorological
University
HELCOM, ICES, SYKE,
IMGW, SMHI, TI-OF
HELCOM, AU, BEF,
TUT
Copenhagen
22.1.14
Skype
28.1.2014
HELCOM, SYKE, UT,
LIAE, UG
BEF, Aquabiota, LIAE,
EMI, CORPI, HELCOM
HELCOM, TUT, BEF
Skype
3.2.14
Riga
7.2.14
Skype
28.3.14
HELCOM, TUT, BEF,
AU
Skype
25.4.14
Next steps and project deliverables
The BALSAM WP1 meeting is invited to discuss the progress in the project, the draft catalogue and its
finalisation, as well as the next steps and progress in reporting.
The work packages have also specific deliverables, which will be finalized during the project. For example,
WP2, led by the HELCOM Secretariat with ICES as sub-contractor, will compile an action plan with
recommendations and examples for increased accessibility and compatibility of environmental and
fisheries monitoring data / data flows and will also arrange a workshop on improving and advancing
existing environmental and fisheries survey capabilities in autumn 2014.
WP3 seal experts, led by Aarhus University and being closely linked to HELCOM SEAL EG, will compile a
common database for seal monitoring data for the HELCOM area containing abundance data from year
2000-present. They will also collect integrated seal distribution data from available telemetry studies and
update the framework and methodology for coordinated monitoring of the seals throughout the Baltic Sea.
The seal experts have also produced a document on “Methods for seal abundance monitoring in the
HELCOM area 2014”, which is to be finalised by the end of the project. The first seal work package meeting
was held back-to-back with HELCOM SEAL EG 7/2013, where the document was discussed and the next one
is planned to be held back-to-back with the next HELCOM SEAL meeting on 21-23 October 2014.
WP3 bird experts, coordinated by Latvian Fund for Nature (LFN), will create a coordination platform for
waterbird monitoring in the Baltic Sea, arrange a seabird monitoring expert meeting in autumn 2014, build
a metadatabase for existing seabird surveys in the Baltic Sea since 1991 and give recommendations for
harmonising national seabird monitoring across the Baltic, while providing a platform for future seabird
monitoring. The first bird work package meeting will be held on 8 May in Tallinn, Estonia. The HABITAT
Meeting is invited to discuss the creation of the coordination platform and how it could be used in the
future for monitoring and providing data for HELCOM core indicators.
WP4, led by HELCOM Secretariat, continues the work from the HELCOM ALIENS3 project and has arranged
a workshop on port survey methodology for non-indigenous species in October 2013. They will also carry
out field trials/tests of the HELCOM-OSPAR port survey protocol for alien species during summer 2014 in
Latvia (by Latvian Institute of Aquatic Ecology, 1-2 ports), Estonia (Estonian Marine Institute) and Poland (by
University of Gdansk, 1 port), test and fine-tune the Ballast Water Management Convention (BWMC) risk
assessment tools and compile a report with recommendations for adjusting existing marine environmental
monitoring schemes in order to obtain reasonable data for indicators to link with pressure-related
monitoring in harbours of non-indigenous species.
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WP5, led by Tallinn University of Technology, will update information on research vessels used for
monitoring in the Baltic Sea, build an automated system for collecting information on planned monitoring
cruises, off-shore monitoring devices and platforms that could need joint service etc., create an on-line
information sharing platform on planned and completed cruises and actual positions of research vessels,
and aim to enhance cooperation streamlining the administrative issues related to international monitoring
cruises. The first meeting of WP5 is planned for 15 May 2014 in Tallinn, Estonia.
Finally, WP6, led by Baltic Environment Forum, has made an assessment of existing monitoring programs
on benthic habitats (Annex 5) and analysed different monitoring methods (Annex 6 and Excel file in the
Meeting Portal) and their application against different MSFD criteria. They will also compile best practices
in biotope monitoring, carry out an assessment of monitoring methods cost-effectiveness and build a
manual with recommendations for habitat monitoring in the Baltic Sea. The next WP6 meeting will take
place on 9 May 2014 in Tallinn Estonia.
Table 2. Upcoming BALSAM meetings.
Meeting
WP2 task force meeting
WP3 seabirds meeting
WP6 benthic habitats
meeting
WP5 first meeting
WP2 stakeholder
workshop
Topic
Fisheries and
environmental
monitoring
Seabird monitoring,
planning the platform
Monitoring of benthic
habitats
Coordinated use of
research vessels
Fisheries and
environmental surveys,
data flows
Time and place
6 May 2014, Tallinn,
Estonia
Contact
Johanna.karhu@helcom.fi
8 May 2014, Tallinn,
Estonia
9 May 2014, Tallinn,
Estonia
15 May 2014, Tallinn,
Estonia
Autumn 2014
ainars.aunins@lu.lv
Page 4 of 17
Heidrun.Fammler@bef.lv
urmas.lips@msi.ttu.ee
johanna.karhu@helcom.fi
Annex 1. The project consortium consists of 19 partners and is coordinated by the HELCOM
Secretariat
Project consortium
1. HELCOM Secretariat (Coordinator)
2. Aquabiota, Sweden
3. Baltic Environment Forum Latvia (BEF LV), Latvia
4. Estonian Fund for Nature (ELF), Estonia
5. Estonian Marine Institute (EMI), Estonia
6. Bundesamt für Seeschiffahrt und Hydrographie (BSH), Germany
7. Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE), Finland
8. Finnish Game and Fisheries Research Institute (FGFRI), Finland
9. Instytut Meteorologii I Gospodarki Wodnej – Państwowy Instytut Badawczy (IMGW-PIB), Poland
10. Klaipeda University (KUCORPI), Lithuania
11. Latvian Fund for Nature (LFN), Latvia
12. Latvian Institute of Aquatic Ecology (LIAE), Latvia
13. Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemünde (IOW), Germany
14. Sveriges Meteorologiska och Hydrologiska Istitut (SMHI), Sweden
15. Swedish Museum of Natural History (SMNH), Sweden
16. Tallinn University of Technology (TUT), Estonia
17. University of Gdansk (UG), Poland
18. WWF Suomi, Finland
19. Aarhus University (AU), Denmark
Page 5 of 17
Annex 2. Organogram of the project structure and partners involved in each work package
Page 6 of 17
Annex 3. Minutes of the BALSAM kick-off meeting
MINUTES OF THE KICK-OFF MEETING OF BALTIC SEA PILOT PROJECT: TESTING NEW CONCEPTS FOR
INTEGRATED ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING OF THE BALTIC SEA (BALSAM)
Introduction
Agenda Item 1
Agenda Item 2
Agenda Item 3
Agenda Item 4
Agenda Item 5
Agenda Item 6
Agenda Item 7
Agenda Item 8
Agenda Item 9
Agenda Item 10
Agenda Item 11
Annex I
........................................................................................................................8
Adoption of the Agenda.....................................................................................8
General introduction to BALSAM project ............................................................8
Overview of work packages ...............................................................................9
Information on relevant HELCOM activities ....................................................... 11
Development of technical deliverables ............................................................. 12
Administrative issues ....................................................................................... 13
BALSAM timetable and reporting deadlines ...................................................... 13
Project communication activities – logo competition ......................................... 14
Coordination with other two Pilot projects for the North Sea and Mediterranean14
Any other business .......................................................................................... 15
Closing of the Meeting..................................................................................... 15
List of Participants ........................................................................................... 16
Page 7 of 17
MINUTES OF THE KICK-OFF MEETING OF
BALTIC SEA PILOT PROJECT: TESTING NEW CONCEPTS FOR INTEGRATED ENVIRONMENTAL
MONITORING OF THE BALTIC SEA (BALSAM)
Introduction
The BALSAM kick-off meeting was held in the HELCOM Secretariat in Helsinki, Finland, on 14-15 November
2013, as a lunch-to-lunch meeting. The objective of the Meeting was to start the activities of the pilot
project and plan and structure the work ahead.
Maria Laamanen, HELCOM Professional Secretary, acted as the Chair of the Meeting. The minutes of the
meeting were compiled by Johanna Karhu, BALSAM Project Coordinator. The list of participants is included
in Annex 1.
Adoption of the Agenda
Documents: 1/1
The Meeting adopted the agenda.
General introduction to BALSAM project
Documents: None
Johanna Karhu, BALSAM Project Coordinator, presented the BALSAM project and the project structure. The
project started on 1 October 2013 and will run for 18 months until the end of March 2015. The project
objective is to support the development of coordinated and joint environmental monitoring in the Baltic
Sea in order to implement the Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP) and the EU Marine Strategy Framework
Directive (MSFD).
The project consortium includes 19 partners and the project is coordinated by the HELCOM Secretariat. All
the HELCOM Contracting Parties that are also EU Member States are involved in the project. Russian
experts are also invited to the meetings.
The project consists of six work packages. WP1, which coordinates and is responsible for the project
administration, is led by the HELCOM Secretariat. The project will coordinate and communicate with other
HELCOM working groups and projects to ensure linkage to policy. The project will be supervised by the
HELCOM GEAR group, which also links the project to national authorities that are responsible for MSFD
implementation. The project will also keep the HELCOM MONAS and HELCOM HABITAT groups informed of
its activities and will coordinate closely with the HELCOM MORE and CORESET II projects. Additionally
BALSAM will coordinate with the other two New Knowledge pilot projects in the North Sea and in the
Mediterranean-Black Sea (IRIS-SES) as well as with the EU MSFD working groups (WG DIKE and GES).
Page 8 of 17
Figure 1. Overview of the project structure and linkages to other processes.
Overview of work packages
Documents: 3/1
The Project Coordinator presented document 3/1 “Summary of the BALSAM project”, which summarizes
information from the Grant Agreement. The Summary document includes information on project
objectives, activities, deliverables and timelines, and it can be used as a basis to fill in the progress report
form for the European Commission (EC). The summary document also collects information on responsible
experts, stakeholders, timetables and progress so far, which the Meeting was invited to check and update.
The work package leaders / leading experts presented their Work Packages in further detail:
WP2 – fisheries and environmental monitoring (Joni Kaitaranta, HELCOM)
Joni Kaitaranta from HELCOM presented the WP2, the objective of which is to integrate fisheries and
environmental data collection and processing. ICES has been subcontracted for the work. The activities
include cataloguing of current environmental and fisheries monitoring, which is to be completed by ICES by
the end of February 2014. The work will also include development of an action plan with recommendations
and expansions for harmonising environmental and fisheries data collection and processing and arranging a
larger joint HELCOM/ICES workshop for improving and advancing existing environmental and fisheries
survey capabilities. The workshop is planned to be arranged in the middle of the project, either in the ICES
headquarters or back-to-back with another conference, such as STAGES in August (possibly in Brussels). A
task force will be created for all partners that are involved in WP2 to oversee and participate in the work.
The first task force meeting is planned to be held in January. This WP will be closely linked to relevant ICES
working groups.
Page 9 of 17
WP3 –monitoring of marine mammals and seabirds (Anders Galatius, Aarhus University)
Anders Galatius from Aarhus University presented the WP3, which will focus on compiling a catalogue of
existing monitoring activities of seals and seabirds, developing databases of integrated monitoring (to be
hosted by HELCOM) as well as distribution maps of at-sea distribution. These will be important for the
MSFD implementation, since currently there are knowledge gaps in these areas. The work will also include
updating the framework and methodology for coordinated monitoring that lives up to current challenges
(e.g. climate change), developing correction factors for seal census data, building a coordination platform
for water bird monitoring with a possible bird experts meeting and guidelines for coordinated cost-effective
future monitoring. The seal part of the work is well incorporated into the HELCOM decision-making
processes and the work of the HELCOM SEAL expert group. The bird part will be more challenging, since
there is currently no official bird cooperation platform within HELCOM, although there has been loose
cooperation within HELCOM CORESET project.
The meeting discussed cooperation between different WPs, e.g. possible cooperation between WP3 and
WP6.
WP4 Invasive Alien Species (Marta Ruiz, HELCOM and Maiju Lehtiniemi, SYKE)
Marta Ruiz, HELCOM, presented the background to HELCOM/OSPAR cooperation on invasive alien species
(IAS) and the Ballast Water Management Convention (BWMC). A joint task group between HELCOM and
OSPAR was established in 2012 and a proposal for joint guidelines for A-4 exemptions was adopted in 2013
that will be kept under continuous review.
Maiju Lehtiniemi, SYKE, presented the BALSAM WP4. Monitoring data is needed for the early detection
and possible eradication of IAS, for the MSFD reporting purposes, for HELCOM fact sheets and for the BWM
Convention. In Finland SYKE and Finnish Game and Fisheries Research Institute have carried out a gap
analysis for monitoring and they found that only 2 non-indigenous species (NIS) out of 29 can be observed
and their abundance estimated in current monitoring programmes. Therefore further monitoring and
development would be needed.
WP4 will also test sampling methods for NIS. Port sampling will take place in Poland, Latvia and possibly
Estonia. Target species work will continue from the HELCOM ALIENS3 project and the web tool/database
will be developed by the consultants further and moved to the HELCOM Secretariat. SYKE will also write a
report on monitoring needs for MSFD and BWMC with recommendations.
The first WP4 workshop took place on 17 October 2013 in the HELCOM Secretariat in association with the
HELCOM ALIENS3 project. An online workshop is planned to be held on 3 February 2014 and a final
workshop is planned for early 2015.
WP4 also has linkages to the ICES working group WGITMO, where they are writing an article on scientific
advice on NIS monitoring. The wider scientific community could also be used in this aspect.
WP5 Coordinated use of research vessels (Urmas Lips, TUT)
The WP5 will focus on optimizing the use of research vessels in the Baltic to enable coordinated planning
and cost-effectiveness. The aims are to ensure cross-country use of vessels, coordinated planning,
enhancing joint and shared use of vessels and automated monitoring devices.
The work will include updating information on available monitoring vessels in the Baltic and the idea is to
build on information gathered in BONUS, Eurocean database and Eurofleet projects. The aim is to also build
an online system that should automatically collect information from the scientific institute’s home pages
and show where vessels are on the map (online tools on HELCOM website). TUT will have a master student
working on this part.
Page 10 of 17
WP5 could also provide recommendations for updating the HELCOM Recommendation 12/1 “Procedures
for Granting Permits for Monitoring and Research Activities in the Territorial Waters and Exclusive
Economic Zones, Fishing Zones or Continental Shelves”1, since currently receiving permissions to take
samples in other countries waters does not work out in an optimal way.
WP5 will be closely linked to the work of HELCOM MORE, since Urmas is also the chair of the MORE project.
The first meeting will be held sometime early next year, where the update on available research vessels in
the Baltic could be presented.
WP6 Benthic habitats (Heidrun Fammler, BEF)
First meeting of the WP6 was held on 4 October 2014 in Latvia, in association with the MARMONI project2
that has focused on biodiversity indicators and that has also contributed to the HELCOM CORESET project.
WP4 deliverables include: a catalogue of existing monitoring and research activities on biotopes, evaluation
of monitoring methods, a manual for habitat monitoring in the Baltic sea, recommendations on monitoring
programs for typical Baltic biotopes and habitats and data input for the HELCOM CORESET II project . The
Catalogue template will be ready by the end of the year and the assessment will be presented in the
MARMONI spring conference in May 2014. The WP6 Catalogue will be slightly different from the other
WPs, since there is no current monitoring of benthic habitats, it will focus on current activities and
techniques which would be then beneficial for assessment.
It was discussed whether to stay on a technical level focusing on methods in the assessments, or whether
to take a higher goal and go for a more strategic level. It was agreed that more strategic thinking will be
needed, since for cost-effectiveness we need to first know what monitoring is needed for and then how this
would be carried out. The core indicators (and MARMONI indicators) should be the basis for this work as
well as the initial assessments and the MSFD needs. It would be good to first look at the Impact
assessments and metadata collected by WG DIKE. It would also be good to take into account the HELCOM
underwater habitat classification3 and the HELCOM RED LIST products4.
WP1 Coordination, Facilitation and Administration (Johanna Karhu, HELCOM)
Johanna Karhu presented the WP1, which takes care of the project coordination, facilitation and
administration and brings together the joint deliverables from the five other work packages. The Project
Coordinator will compile the progress and final reports to the European Commission and will make sure
that these are submitted on time. The WP1 will report on the project progress to HELCOM working groups
and projects as well as the EC MSFD working groups and will coordinate with the other two New
Knowledge pilot projects in the North Sea and in the Mediterranean-Black Sea. The WP1 will also
coordinate project communication activities.
Information on relevant HELCOM activities
Documents: 4/1
Maria Laamanen, HELCOM, gave an overview on how the BALSAM project links and supports other ongoing HELCOM work.
1
http://helcom.fi/Recommendations/Rec%2012-1.pdf
http://www.bef.lv/129/872/
3 http://helcom.fi/baltic-sea-trends/biodiversity/red-list-of-biotopes-habitats-and-biotope-complexes
4 http://helcom.fi/Lists/Publications/BSEP138.pdf
2
Page 11 of 17
The driving policy documents behind the project are the HELCOM BSAP5 and the Ministerial Declaration
from 20136, which agreed to start implementing the revised HELCOM Monitoring and Assessment Strategy7
immediately. The Strategy is based on a joint coordinated monitoring system, a common data pool,
regularly updated core indicators and assessments and is carried out in six year cycles. The Attachment 4 in
the Strategy lists the sub-divisions of the Baltic, which should also be used in the BALSAM project, e.g. in
maps.
The project should coordinate closely with the HELCOM MORE and CORESET II projects and give input to
their work. The MORE project8 develops a new comprehensive monitoring manual for the joint coordinated
monitoring system for the Baltic Sea, including updated guidelines and has compiled an overview of marine
environmental monitoring in the Baltic Sea. The BALSAM project can use this overview as the basis for the
monitoring catalogue to avoid any duplication or work. Manuel Frias, MORE project Coordinator, presented
the map service9 , where all the monitoring programmes are illustrated and can be downloaded from, and
the excel sheets that were used to compile the information for the MORE overview.
The CORESET II project will develop the HELCOM core indicators further and they are available on the
HELCOM website10. BALSAM can provide data for these core indicators, especially for mammals, seabirds,
invasive alien species and benthic habitats. There will be a joint MORE-CORESET workshop on 13-14
January 2014 back-to-back with a CORESET II kick-off meeting on 14-15 January 2014, where the BALSAM
experts are also invited to participate.
Most BALSAM deliverables and products can also be published on the HELCOM website, in the HELCOM
map and data system and in the Baltic environment proceedings.
Development of technical deliverables
Documents: None
The project has three joint deliverables that link the six work packages: 1) Catalogue of all environmental
monitoring activities, 2) Gap analysis of how well the current monitoring supports the needs of the MSFD
and 3) Final report.
The Meeting agreed that the Monitoring overview, which has been compiled in the HELCOM MORE project,
will be used as the basis of the BALSAM Catalogue to avoid any duplication of work. Manuel Frias, Project
Coordinator of the HELCOM MORE project, presented the MORE overview and the Excel files that were
used to compile the data. The excel files also contain information (coordinates) to produce the GIS maps. It
was agreed that BALSAM work packages should check the excel files for any missing information. Currently
data is included for marine mammals, seabirds, phytobenthos and zoobenthos. Therefore, data for WP2
(fisheries), WP4 (invasive alien species), and WP5 (research vessels) is not yet included and will need to be
added. The WP6 on benthic habitats will also provide new information on research methods. It will need to
be seen how information and coordinates could be collected for benthic habitats, e.g. on a HELCOM subbasin level. Heidrun Fammler, WP6 Lead, will discuss with the WP6 experts and inform the Project Steering
Group on this.
The project Coordinator presented the EC reporting format for the progress reports, where activities and
deliverables and their progress, timetable and possible problems, will need to be listed in tables. The
project summary document 3/1 can be used as the basis for filling this in. The Project Coordinator will
compile the deliverables and activities in the reporting form (with coding) during autumn 2013 and will
5
http://helcom.fi/baltic-sea-action-plan
http://helcom.fi/Ministerial2013/ministerial-declaration
7 http://helcom.fi/action-areas/monitoring-and-assessment/monitoring-and-assessment-strategy
8 http://helcom.fi/helcom-at-work/projects/more/
9 http://maps.helcom.fi/website/HelcomMORE/index.html
10 http://helcom.fi/baltic-sea-trends/biodiversity/indicators
6
Page 12 of 17
circulate the filled in reporting form to the experts. The project partners will need to fill in their information
(to be coordinated by WP leaders) by the end of April 2014 for the first progress report that covers the first
six months of the project. The aim is to carry out the reporting by using online tools and the upcoming
HELCOM SharePoint. The secretariat will then compile the progress report during May 2014 since the
deadline to submit the report to the EC is the end of May 2014.
The gap analysis will be delivered in the second progress report that is due to the EC by end of November
2014. The gap analysis should look into how the current monitoring responds to the MSFD needs and the
core indicators should be used as a basis for the assessment.
Administrative issues
Documents: None
Satu Raisamo, HELCOM, gave a presentation on the project financial reporting requirements. The internal
contracts between HELCOM as the coordinator and the project partners are being signed, and the first
payments will be made to the partners as soon as the signed contracts have been received. For the final
payment (from the EU) at least 70% of the previous payments must have been spent and reported. The
Secretariat will send the EU guidelines and financial excel file to the BALSAM contacts.
BALSAM timetable and reporting deadlines
Documents: None
The Meeting noted that further meetings of WP1 are needed and agreed to arrange the next meeting on
the week of 5-11 May 2014 back-to-back with the MARMONI project, since this would reduce travel costs
for the two projects and would ensure cost-efficiency.
The following deadlines were agreed for the first progress report:
End of January 2014
Excel files for monitoring data filled in and sent
to Project Coordinator (from MORE project)
End of March 2014
First draft of monitoring Catalogue ready with
maps
End of April 2014
Final version of monitoring Catalogue ready
Partners send their financial reports to HELCOM
Administrative Officer
Partners send their input to technical reports to
Project Coordinator (coordinated by WP
leaders)
End of May 2014
Project Coordinator submits the first progress
report to the European Commission (technical
report, financial report and Catalogue of
Monitoring).
The second progress report to the EC will be due in the end of November 2014 and the final technical
implementation report will be due in the end of May 2015.
Page 13 of 17
Project communication activities – logo competition
Documents: None
The Project Coordinator presented the plans for project communication activities. A website11 for the
project has been created within the new HELCOM website and this could be elaborated further and pages
could be created for all the work packages. The website should also be kept up-to-date with information on
meetings, project progress and outcomes. The Project Coordinator will be in touch with the WP leaders to
develop the website further.
The Meeting agreed to use the HELCOM Meeting Portal as an internal working platform, as needed, for the
project until the new HELCOM SharePoint is functional, most likely in February 2014.
The Meeting voted and agreed on the project logo (on the front page). The BALSAM logo and the HELCOM
and EU logos should be used in all project communications activities. The logos are available for download
in the HELCOM Meeting Portal.
Coordination with other two Pilot projects for the North Sea and Mediterranean
Documents: None
Hans Ruiter from the JMP North Sea - Celtic Sea project gave a presentation of their activities. The project
involves OSPAR and 18 partners in 9 countries from the North Sea. They had a kick off meeting in the end of
October and are developing case studies for the project. Work packages A and B include cataloguing
current monitoring programmes and their methods and assessing their contribution to meeting MSFD
needs. These packages are the same for all the New Knowledge pilot projects.
The meeting discussed ways to cooperate with the North Sea project and it was discussed that it could be
interesting to link the work for benthic invertebrates (WP6) and also with ship owners (WP5).
Maria Laamanen, HELCOM, gave a presentation on the Integrated Regional monitoring Implementation
Strategy in the South European Seas (IRIS-SES) project that was prepared by the Project Coordinator Popi
Pagou from the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research. The project objectives include to develop decisionmaking tools to design efficient and cost effective monitoring programs, consider possibilities for the
integration of techniques and determine the required spatial and temporal resolution, assess through pilot
sampling actions within existing monitoring programs the feasibility of proposed integrated monitoring
strategies, elaborate guidelines for sampling across the various disciplines (biological, chemical, physical) to
meet the MSFD requirements and development of cooperation among research institutions within selected
regions in the implementation of pilot projects. The project includes 9 partners and the kick off meeting
was held on 5 November 2013 in Athens, where the HELCOM Secretariat as the BALSAM project
coordinator also participated.
Maria Laamanen also gave information on the Project Coordination Group (PCG) meeting under the MSFD
Common Implementation Strategy, which was held on 12-13 September 2013 in Brussels, and which
oversees a number of potentially MSFD supportive research projects, e.g. STAGES and PERSEUS. The PCG
meeting received presentations from all three New Knowledge Pilot Projects, including the BALSAM project
that was presented by her. The meeting was followed by a kick-off meeting of the three Pilot Projects,
which discussed potential areas for cooperation and how to arrange coordination between the projects. In
general the Project Coordination Group (PCG) will be informed about the project progress and outcomes.
11
http://helcom.fi/helcom-at-work/projects/balsam/
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Any other business
Documents: None
The next BALSAM WP1 meeting will be held on the week of 5-11 May after the MARMONI project seminar
in either Riga or Tallinn. The exact dates, agenda and possibly joint workshops with the MARMONI seminar
will be communicated later.
Tatjana Eremina from the Russian State Hydrometeorological University gave a presentation on monitoring
activities in Russia. Seasonal monitoring on hydrology, chemistry, contaminants and biology is taking place
in the Neva bay, Eastern Gulf of Finland and the Kaliningrad shelf and the RSHU has carried out monitoring
activities in the Gulf of Finland for over 15 years. Joint monitoring activities with Finland and Estonia is
planned in the Gulf of Finland in 2014.
The participants were also informed on the monitoring activity in the Russian part of the Vistula Lagoon and
an agreement on data exchange between IMGW-PIB (Poland) and KCHEM (Kaliningrad Oblast).
Closing of the Meeting
Documents: Minutes of the Meeting
The Meeting documents and presentations will be available in the HELCOM Meeting portal (PROJECTS >
BALSAM) for the BALSAM contacts. The minutes of the meeting will be finalised by the Project Coordinator
and sent to the participants for a quick round of comments, after which the minutes will be adopted. The
minutes will be available on the project website and will be presented by the Secretariat to relevant
HELCOM working groups, e.g. HELCOM GEAR, MONAS and HABITAT.
Page 15 of 17
Annex I
List of Participantas
PARTICIPANTS
Mr. Anders Galatius
WP3 Leader
Department of Bioscience,
Aarhus University
Fredriksborgvej 399
DK-4000 Roskilde
International Council for the
Exploration of the Sea (ICES)
H.C. Andersens Boulevard 44-46
DK-1553 Copenhagen V
Dir.Phone: +45 28710372
Fax: +45 87155015
Email: AGJ@DMU.DK
Mr. Urmas Lips
WP5 Leader
Marine Systems Institute at
Tallinn University of Technology
Akademia tee 15a
EE-12618 Tallinn
Dir.Phone: +372 6204304
Fax: 3726204301
Email: urmas.lips@msi.ttu.ee
Mr. Seppo Kaitala
Finnish Environment Institute
(SYKE)
Marine Research Centre/State
of the Marine Environment
Erik Palménin aukio 1
P.O. Box 140
FI - 00251 HELSINKI, FINLAND
Dir.Phone: 358 295 251 250
Fax: +358 (9) 3233970
Email:
seppo.kaitala@ymparisto.fi
Ms. Maiju Lehtiniemi
Finnish Environment Institute
(SYKE)
P.O. Box 140
FI-00251 Helsinki
Dir.Phone: +358407255085
Fax:
Email:
maiju.lehtiniemi@ymparisto.fi
Mr. Jukka Rintala
Finnish Game and Fisheries
Research Institute
P.O. Box 2 (Viikinkaari 4)
Helsinki
Dir.Phone: +358 295327202
Fax:
Email: jukka.rintala@rktl.fi
Mr. Günther Nausch
Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea
Research Warnemünde (IOW)
Seestrasse 15
D-18119 Rostock-Warnemünde
Dir.Phone: +49 3815197332
Fax: +49 3815197302
Email: guenther.nausch@iowarnemuende.de
Ms. Heidrun Fammler
President
WP6 Leader
Baltic Environmental Forum
Group
Antonijas street 3-8
LV-1010 Riga
Dir.Phone: 371 6735 7555
Fax: +371 67507071
Email: Heidrun.Fammler@bef.lv
Mr Hans Ruiter
JMP NS/CS – project
Verzetslaan 11,
Almere, Netherland
Dir.Phone: 0031651685036
Fax:
Email: hans.ruiter@rws.nl
Mrs. Magdalena Kaminska
Institute of Meterology and
Water Management
Waszyngtona Str., 42
Maritime Branch
Gdynia
Dir.Phone: 48 58 6288255
Fax: 48 58 6288163
Email:
Magdalena.Kaminska@imgw.pl
Mr. Wlodzimierz Krzyminski
Institute of Meteorology and
Dir.Phone: +48 586288131
Mr. Wojciech Wawrzynski
Scientific Cooperation Secretary
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Dir.Phone: +45 33 38 67 57
Fax: +45 33 93 42 15
Email: wojciech@ices.dk
Water Management, National
Research Institute
Maritime Branch in Gdynia
Waszyngtona Str. 42
PL-81 342 Gdynia
Fax: +48 586288163
Email:
wlodzimierz.krzyminski@imgw.
pl
Ms. Tatjana Eremina
Russian State
Hydrometeorological University
Prosveshenija pr., 20/25, 340
Saint-Petersburg
Dir.Phone: 79213438954
Fax: +7 8124446090
Email: tanya.er@gmail.com
Ms. Karin Wesslander
Swedish Meteorological and
Hydrological Institute (SMHI)
Sven Källfelts gata 15
SE-426 71 Västra Frölunda
Dir.Phone: +46 317518949
Fax: +46 317518980
Email:
karin.wesslander@smhi.se
Helsinki Commission
Katajanokanlaituri 6 B
Helsinki
Dir.Phone: 358 40 162 2054
Fax:
Email: lena.avellan@helcom.fi
Mr. Manuel Frias
MORE Project Coordinator
Helsinki Commission
Katajanokanlaituri 6 B
FI-00160 Helsinki
Dir.Phone: +358 468509209
Fax: +358 207412645
Email: manuel.frias@helcom.fi
Mr. Joni Kaitaranta
Data Administrator
Helsinki Commission
Katajanokanlaituri 6 B
FI-00160 Helsinki
Dir.Phone: +358 468509206
Fax: +358 207412645
Email:
joni.kaitaranta@helcom.fi
Ms. Johanna Karhu
BALSAM Project Coordinator
Helsinki Commission
Katajanokanlaituri 6B
Helsinki
Dir.Phone: 358 406619040
Fax:
Email:
johanna.karhu@helcom.fi
Ms. Maria Laamanen
Professional Secretary
Helsinki Commission
Katajanokanlaituri 6 B
FI-00160 Helsinki
Dir.Phone: +358 468509198
Fax: +358 207412645
Email:
maria.laamanen@helcom.fi
Ms. Riikka Puntila
Aliens3 Project Researcher
Helsinki Commission
Katajanokanlaituri 6 B
FI-00160 Helsinki
Dir.Phone: +358 468509211
Fax:
Email: riikka.puntila@helcom.fi
Ms. Satu Raisamo
Administrative Officer
Helsinki Commission
Katajanokanlaituri 6 B
FI-00160 Helsinki
Dir.Phone: +358 468509201
Fax: +358 207412645
Email: satu.raisamo@helcom.fi
Ms. Marta Ruiz
Aliens3 Project Researcher
Helsinki Commission
Katajanokanlaituri 6B
Helsinki
Dir.Phone: +358 406472424
Fax: +358 207412645
Email: marta.ruiz@helcom.fi
HELCOM SECRETARIAT
Ms. Lena Avellan
CORESET II Project Manager
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