HELCOM Red List of Species
and Biotopes
Progress of the project
HELCOM RED LIST Fishes
28 February-1 March 2012
Project Coordinator Jannica Haldin
Photo: Terhi Ryttäri
Checklists of Baltic Sea
Species
Checklists of Baltic Sea species
• Publication:
•
•
•
•
•
All checklists and their
documentation compiled into one
document
Publication on the HELCOM
webpages by 1 March 2012
Scientific publication on
checklist by the Benthic
Invertebrates team & possibly the
Macrophyte team
After publication: one month of
public review during which the
scientific community can scrutinize
and supply comments/suggestions.
Comments collected at Secretariat,
then forwarded to the teams→final
update
Assessments
Assessments of species
• Follows the IUCN guidelines for regional
assessments
• Assessment templates can be used
• All species/biotopes found in the previous Red
Lists (BSEPs 75, 109 and 113) must be assessed
any changes in status documented
• Assessments are to be documented by the
experts on the documentation template
• → Information to be used on the Species
Information Sheet
Assessments
• Species information sheet to be compiled for
every species on the list of assessed species
(CR,EN,VU, NT and DD) as well as any
previously redlisted pecies that now falls outside
the threath categories.
Assessments
Species information sheet should contain:
– Assessment justification
Scientific name
– Recommendations for actions
Species authority
to conserve the species
Taxonomic group
– References
IUCN criteria
Red List category
Picture/drawing
Distribution and status in the
Baltic Sea region
– Distribution map
– Habitat and Ecology
– Description of major threats
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Legend
Arctica_islandica_MADS_ICES_20Kgrid
records
2000 or after
before 2000
HELCOM Red List Activites
HELCOM Red List Project 2009-2013
• Teams have worked in 2010-2011 e.g. to
– finalize the checklists of the Baltic Sea species
– harmonize the assessment principles among species
teams (IUCN Red List criteria and guidelines are
followed)
– collect distributional data for species
– continue the development of biotope classification of
the Baltic Sea trough the BSEUNIS project
Red List of species activities in
2010-2011
• Macrophyte Team has held four meetings:
- checklist and distributional data finalized
- list of species which clearly represent the IUCN Red List
categories Least Concern (LC, not threatened), Not
Applicable (NA, e.g. introduced species) and Not
Evaluated (NE, very poorly known taxa that cannot be
evaluated at all)
-  list of candidate species (about 60 species)
- species divided between experts for assessment at the
last meeting in October in Gothenburg, Sweden
- Next meeting 21-23.3 at Askö fieldstation, Sweden
Foto:Malin EK
Foto:
Metsähallitus
/Jan Ekebom
Red List of species activities in
2010-2011
• Benthic Invertebrate Team has held three meetings:
- checklist and distributional data finalized
- list of species which clearly represent the IUCN Red
List categories Least Concern, Not Applicable and
Not Evaluated
-  list of candidate species (over 240 species)
- Species divided between experts for assessment at
the last meeting in Rostock, Germany.
- due to the very large amount of species to be
assessed the deadline for the BI team was
postponed until the middle of June 2012
- Scientific manuscript submitted to Oceanologica
Foto: Raisa Turja
Foto:
Metsähallitus
/Jan Ekebom
Red List of species activities in
2010-2011
• Fish Team had its second meeting in December 2011:
- checklist finalized
- list of species which clearly represent the IUCN Red List
categories Least Concern and Not Applicable
-  list of candidate species (about 120 species)
- next meeting 28 February-1 March in Uppsala, Sweden
Foto:
Metsähallitus
/Jan Ekebom
Foto:
Metsähallitus
/Jan Ekebom
Red List of species activities in
2010-2011
•Waterbirds Team
-produced a final draft for the Red List of Baltic Breeding
-draft has been published on the HELCOM webpages in
January 2012
-Will be incorporated into the HELCOM Red List of Baltic
Sea Species by early 2013
-produced a proposal for a Red List of birds wintering in
the Baltic and are currently making a Red List of Baltic
Sea Wintering Birds
Foto: Jannica Haldin
Foto: Jannica Haldin
Foto: Jannica Haldin
Red List of species activities in
2010-2011
•Marine Mammals Team had its first meeting in
September 2011:
- checklist finalized
- species to be assessed divided between experts
Foto: Jannica Haldin
HELCOM Red List Biotopes
work
•Biotopes Team has had four meetings, the last one 1112.10 in Vilnius:
- has started the project for creating a compatible
EUNIS classification for the Baltic Sea
habitats/biotopes
- to be a cooperation between consultants and the work
of expert workshops.
- assessment to be partly based on expert questionnaire
- assessments to be made parallel to the classification
work.
Foto: Raisa Turja
Foto:
Metsähallitus
/Jan Ekebom
Foto:
Metsähallitus
/Jan Ekebom
Structure of HELCOM
Biotopes work
Red List of species activities in
2011-2012
• Four subtasks almost finalized:
–
–
–
–
Checklists of the Baltic Sea species
Distributional datasets for the Baltic Sea for all species
Lists of species to be assessed
Lists of species which clearly represent categories Least
Concern, Not Applicable and Not Evaluated
• Next tasks:
–
–
–
–
–
Collect data for the species to be assessed in more detail
Prepare assessments for them (in all about 390 species)
Document the assessments
Compile Species Information Sheets
Finalize the Red List for the Baltic Sea report
2011
Finalization of checklists and distributional data, listing species that are
Gathering data for the assessments of candidate species and their assessments (T assisted by S)
clearly Least Concern, Not Applicable or Not Evaluated
Preparation of Species Information Sheets (T assisted by S?)
HELCOM
HABITAT in
May
2012
Analyses of
overall
results,
preparation
of general
texts and
editorial w ork
w ith group
texts (S)
Layout for
the species
section
and/or
preparations
for w eb
publishing
(S)
Checks of
Red List timetable forresults
2011-2012
and
Gathering of data continues
editorial w ork
w ith Species
Information
Sheets (S)
Preparation of Sheets continues
Preparing
results texts HELCOM
by groups HABITAT in
May
(T)
Species
Information
Sheets for
final checkup to teams
Potential
results
checks in
teams
Finalizing and
publishing