Well-designed monitoring programmes are the tool that may help to provide high quality information about the status of biodiversity in the Baltic Sea. The present biodiversity monitoring methods do not provide a full picture and are in many cases not appropriate for indicator based biodiversity assessment. A harmonized biodiversity monitoring programme for the Baltic Sea is also lacking, and the monitoring methods need both development and harmonization.

Marmoni analysed existing monitoring methods and tested and developed new innovative and cost-effective monitoring methods and prepared methodological descriptions/guiding tools for new monitoring methods. In total 17 new innovative methods were tested in the study areas. The project also provided complex information on marine biodiversity necessary for assessment of the conservation status of habitats and particular species of community interest following requirements of the Habitats and Birds Directives as well marine ecosystem as such in relation to monitoring requirements under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive and HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan.

The report Wijkmark et al. 2014: Field, laboratory and experimental work within the MARMONI project – report on survey results and obtained data. is a comprehensive report on the extensive field works, method testing and development as well as spatial modelling that have been performed within MARMONI. This report also contains an extensive map material providing an overview of the field works performed and models created in the study areas in Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Sweden.

The report Veidemane K., Pakalniete K. 2015: Socio economic assessment of indicator based marine biodiversity monitoring programmes and methods presents approaches and results of the socio-economic assessment of marine biodiversity monitoring programmes which are developed to deliver data for new biodiversity indicators with the purpose of assessing good environmental status.

There are several diving methods                                      A new grab method for monitoring of zoobenthos
for monitoring of marine biodiversity                                was developed

©  Latvian Institute of Aquatic Ecology                          © AquaBiota Water Research

Project co-financiers: Latvian Environmental Protection Fund and Estonian Environmental Investment Centre