Two meetings to inform stakeholders of the MARMONI project and related actions in the Swedish MARMONI study area Hanö Bight has been held in Swedish Counties Skåne and Blekinge. Possible approaches and strategies for actions in the Swedish study area were discussed, with focus on spatial modelling methods and its usefulness for marine management. Stakeholders were invited to participate in a forum for discussing marine conservation values and management perspectives further on in the project.

Sagadi manor in Estonia gathered more than 50 scientists and nature conservation experts around the Baltic Sea to participate in the seminar “Development of marine biodiversity indicators”, who shared experience in the field of marine biodiversity monitoring and indicators.

On 28-29 October, the MARMONI project was presented to Latvian school teachers involved in the Baltic Sea Project – an international network among schools for a better environment in the Baltic catchment area. The participants also discussed possibilities of involving school children in voluntary monitoring of marine biodiversity under the guidance of the Latvian Institute of Aquatic Ecology.

The aim of the workshop is to exchange international experience in development and application of indicators and methods for monitoring and assessment of the state of marine biodiversity and to present and discuss the preliminary results on biodiversity indicator development in MARMONI project.
Main topics of discussion: existing schemes for biodiversity assessment; principles of development of biodiversity or biodiversity related indicators in marine environment and setting targets for good environmental status; interrelations between concepts of favourable conservation status of species and habitats in marine environment; relevance of existing monitoring schemes for the assessment of the state of marine biodiversity in the Baltic Sea; good practice examples.
If you are interested to participate, please contact Ms. Laura Remmelgas laura.remmelgas@bef.ee

Three reports on reporting requirements of different international policy documents, as well as data availability on marine biodiversity, sea uses and pressures – please find under the Project outcomes

Since the beginning of May, the Institute for Environmental Solutions started remote sensing data acquisition flights within the Gulf of Riga and Irbe Strait  to collect first set of high resolution RGB images and thermal images for seabird counting. At the same time on similar locations visual bird counts from the airplane were started in cooperation with the Latvian Fund for Nature. Similar activities are foreseen also for the investigation of marine habitats.

Images below are  from the project area: Gulf of Riga

A new method for inventory of benthic vegetation is being tested in the Swedish study area, the Hanö Bight. The field work is carried out by AquaBiota Water Research and the county administrative board of Blekinge in June 2011. The method, which was developed within the MARMONI project, will be used to supply data for newly developed biodiversity indicators.

In Sweden the seabird counting season has begun and representatives from Lund University are well on their way with this year’s inventory. Within three special study areas in the Hanö Bight the amount of nesting seabirds has been counted from boat surveys around selected islands combined with nest searches on some islands. Moreover the breeding Mute Swans were surveyed from the area in the entire archipelago area. Remaining work includes following up the breeding success of nesting Eiders by counting their broods in May.

 Sea bird counting season is quickly approaching. On April 2, MARMONI project organized training for Latvian amateur ornithologists.  Experienced professionals presented theoretical lessons, but later all trainees went to the coastline of the Gulf of Riga and underwent practical training for bird counting from the shore.

More than 80 people attended the local conference in Riga devoted to the European Maritime Day – held on May 20 in the premises of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development. Audience was also introduced with the MARMONI project, its aims, main activities and results so far.