REPORT OF THE STUDY GROUP ON BALTIC ECOSYSTEM HEALTH ISSUES IN SUPPORT OF BSRP (SGEH)

Firstly, activities and developments of relevant environmental organizations were reviewed: ICES, HELCOM, EU EEA, OSPAR and US EPA (Section 3). Secondly, four sub-groups cov-ering the above-mentioned concerns were established. As a result of the work done in sub-groups, preliminary proposals for the general and specific EcoQOs, pressure and State Indicators (and in some cases Reference Conditions) were elabo-rated (Section 4). Further developments of these issues will be continued. Other issues related to the ecosystem health assessments as well as ecosystem-based manage-ment were discussed, namely: Multiple Marine Environmental Disturbances (MMED), the use of phytobenthos for the coastal ecosystems health assessment, the use of biodiversity for the ecosystem health assessment, the need for monitoring of biological effects of harmful sub-stances in the Baltic Sea, the need for fish disease surveys and the utility of marine birds as indicator of marine pollution.