This dataset contains data used for the HELCOM Core indicator State of the soft-bottom macrofauna community 2018. Attribute information: "SampleID" = Sample ID "Station" = Station name "Year" = Year of sampling event "Latitude" = Latitude coordinate (WGS84 decimal degrees) "Longitude" = Longitude coordinate (WGS84 decimal degrees) "Depth" = Depth of station (m) "Sentivit" = Sensitivity subset "Sampling_a" = Sampling area (cm2) "Sieve_mesh" = Sive mesh size (microm) "BQI" = Benthic quality index value "Data sourc" = Source of data (national monitoring / other) "Data_origi" = Data providing organization "Country" = Data providing country "Assessment" = HELCOM Level 2 assessment unit where the station resides

This dataset describes fishing effort (hours/c-square) for mobile bottom-contacting gear in 2010 based on VMS/Log book data processed by ICES Working Group on Spatial Fisheries Data (WGSFD). HELCOM requires spatially explicit information on fishing activity affecting the Baltic Sea marine ecosystem for policy purposes. In order to obtain this information a joint ICES/HELCOM/OSPAR data call was issued to relevant authorities of contracting parties to deliver information on fishing activity based on VMS/Log book data. The raw data was submitted to ICES and processed to advice data products by ICES Working Group for Spatial Fisheries (WGSFD) as requested by HELCOM. Processing of the raw data requires specific resources, knowledge and guarantee of anonymity for specific vessels, thus the process was done by ICES WGSFD following Conditions for VMS data use. In 2015 ICES collated Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) and logbook data received; data from Russia were not received. ICES provided to HELCOM advice as fishing abrasion pressure maps as well as fishing effort maps. HELCOM secretariat did the following processing to the data: - Conversion to ETRS89LAEA coordinate system - Added feature and attribute "Reported" to display unreported areas. Dataset attribute information: c-square: Unique reference of the c-square polygon mid_lat: latitude coordinate of the centroid of c-square inWGS84 decimal degrees mid_lon: longitude coordinate of the centroid of c-square inWGS84 decimal degrees Year: Year of fishing activity quarter: Quarter of the year, if applicable geargroup: Fishing gear group (Effort maps) SubsurfSAR: Subsurface swept area ratio (Intensity maps) SurfSAR: Surface swept area ratio (Intensity maps) Fishing_ho: Total fishing effort in hours within c-square (Effort maps) Reported: Yes=Reported data. No= No reported data (area that does not contain effort/intensity value due to lack of reported data.

This dataset describes fishing intensity for OT SPF mobile bottom contacting gear in 2016 based on VMS/Log book data processed by ICES Working Group on Spatial Fisheries Data (WGSFD). ICES secretariat collected during 2017 relevant VMS and logbook data for 2009-2016 to produce, as a technical service to HELCOM, updated spatial data layers on fishing intensity/pressure. Improved data quality control checks were implemented. Submitted data across the HELCOM area have improved in quality compared to previous data 2009-2013 published in 2015. Standardized methods were used to produce the requested data layers. The code used to create the data products is available here: https://github.com/ices-eg/wg_WGSFD For further technical information on the advice request, see http://www.ices.dk/sites/pub/Publication%20Reports/Advice/2017/Special_requests/helcom.2017.18.pdf HELCOM secretariat did the following processing to the shapefile provided by ICES: - Conversion to ETRS89LAEA coordinate system - Added feature and attribute "Reported" to display unreported areas. Dataset attribute information: c-square: Unique reference of the c-square polygon Year: Year of fishing activity mid_lat: latitude coordinate of the centroid of c-square inWGS84 decimal degrees mid_lon: longitude coordinate of the centroid of c-square inWGS84 decimal degrees SurfaceSAR: Surface area ratio (Swept area, < 2 cm penetration depth of the gear components) Subsurface: Subsurface area ratio (Swept area, subsurface =>2 cm penetration depth of the gear components) totweight: Total Weight (kg) totvalue: Total value (Euros) Kw Fishing Hours: (Kw*h) Fishing hours: (h) Reported: Yes=Reported data. No= No reported data (area that does not contain effort/intensity value due to lack of reported data). Please note that this dataset was updated (v2) in January 2019, see further details below in the lineage section.

This dataset describes fishing intensity for surface mobile bottom contacting gear in 2011 based on VMS/Log book data processed by ICES Working Group on Spatial Fisheries Data (WGSFD). ICES secretariat collected during 2017 relevant VMS and logbook data for 2009-2016 to produce, as a technical service to HELCOM, updated spatial data layers on fishing intensity/pressure. Improved data quality control checks were implemented. Submitted data across the HELCOM area have improved in quality compared to previous data 2009-2013 published in 2015. Standardized methods were used to produce the requested data layers. The code used to create the data products is available here: https://github.com/ices-eg/wg_WGSFD For further technical information on the advice request, see http://www.ices.dk/sites/pub/Publication%20Reports/Advice/2017/Special_requests/helcom.2017.18.pdf HELCOM secretariat did the following processing to the shapefile provided by ICES: - Conversion to ETRS89LAEA coordinate system - Added feature and attribute "Reported" to display unreported areas. Dataset attribute information: c-square: Unique reference of the c-square polygon Year: Year of fishing activity mid_lat: latitude coordinate of the centroid of c-square inWGS84 decimal degrees mid_lon: longitude coordinate of the centroid of c-square inWGS84 decimal degrees SurfaceSAR: Surface area ratio (Swept area, < 2 cm penetration depth of the gear components) Subsurface: Subsurface area ratio (Swept area, subsurface =>2 cm penetration depth of the gear components) totweight: Total Weight (kg) totvalue: Total value (Euros) Kw Fishing Hours: (Kw*h) Fishing hours: (h) Reported: Yes=Reported data. No= No reported data (area that does not contain effort/intensity value due to lack of reported data). Please note that this dataset was updated (v2) in January 2019, see further details below in the lineage section.

This core indicator evaluates the status of abundance of wintering waterbirds in the Baltic Sea region, here visulized for surface feeders.The wintering waterbirds are considered to reflect good status when at least 75% of the considered species deviate less than 30% downwards (species laying more than one egg per year) or 20% downwards (species laying one egg per year) from the baseline condition during the reference period 1991-2000. This dataset displays the result of the indicator in HELCOM Assessment Scale 3 (Division of the Baltic Sea into 17 sub-basins and further division into coastal and offshore areas). Attribute information: "HELCOM_ID" = ID of the HELCOM scale 3 assessment unit "country" = Country "Group area" = Name of the group area "level_2" = Name of scale 2 HELCOM assessment unit (subbasin) "level_3" = Name of scale 3 HELCOM assessment unit "Area (km2)" = Area of HELCOM assessment unit "coastal" = HELCOM ID of the coastal areas "open_sea" = Open sea assessment unit name "Abundance" = Assessed parameter "Threshold" = Threshold value "Wading feeders" = Results for the category "Wading feeders status" = Status of the indicator (“Achieve”, “Fail” or “Not assessed”) "Surface feeders" = Results for the category "Surface feeders status" = Status of the indicator (“Achieve”, “Fail” or “Not assessed”) "Pelagic feeders" = Results for the category "Pelagic feeders status" = Status of the indicator (“Achieve”, “Fail” or “Not assessed”) "Benthic feeders" = Results for the category "Benthic feeders status" = Status of the indicator (“Achieve”, “Fail” or “Not assessed”) "Grazing feeders" = Results for the category "Grazing feeders status" = Status of the indicator (“Achieve”, “Fail” or “Not assessed”) "AULEVEL" = Assessment unit level used for the indicator

This dataset describes fishing intensity for OT MIX CRU DMF mobile bottom contacting gear in 2012 based on VMS/Log book data processed by ICES Working Group on Spatial Fisheries Data (WGSFD). ICES secretariat collected during 2017 relevant VMS and logbook data for 2009-2016 to produce, as a technical service to HELCOM, updated spatial data layers on fishing intensity/pressure. Improved data quality control checks were implemented. Submitted data across the HELCOM area have improved in quality compared to previous data 2009-2013 published in 2015. Standardized methods were used to produce the requested data layers. The code used to create the data products is available here: https://github.com/ices-eg/wg_WGSFD For further technical information on the advice request, see http://www.ices.dk/sites/pub/Publication%20Reports/Advice/2017/Special_requests/helcom.2017.18.pdf HELCOM secretariat did the following processing to the shapefile provided by ICES: - Conversion to ETRS89LAEA coordinate system - Added feature and attribute "Reported" to display unreported areas. Dataset attribute information: c-square: Unique reference of the c-square polygon Year: Year of fishing activity mid_lat: latitude coordinate of the centroid of c-square inWGS84 decimal degrees mid_lon: longitude coordinate of the centroid of c-square inWGS84 decimal degrees SurfaceSAR: Surface area ratio (Swept area, < 2 cm penetration depth of the gear components) Subsurface: Subsurface area ratio (Swept area, subsurface =>2 cm penetration depth of the gear components) totweight: Total Weight (kg) totvalue: Total value (Euros) Kw Fishing Hours: (Kw*h) Fishing hours: (h) Reported: Yes=Reported data. No= No reported data (area that does not contain effort/intensity value due to lack of reported data). Please note that this dataset was updated (v2) in January 2019, see further details below in the lineage section.

Observations of Ammodytes tobianus were collected from the Baltic Sea area for HELCOM Red List species list. The HELCOM Red List of Baltic Sea species in danger of becoming extinct (2013) is the first threat assessment for Baltic Sea species that covers all marine mammals, fish, birds, macrophytes (aquatic plants), and benthic invertebrates, and follows the Red List criteria of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Almost 2800 species were considered in the Red List assessment and about 1750 were evaluated according to the IUCN Red List criteria. Ammodytes tobianus has been placed to the Red List category of Least Concern (LC) species. The map shows the sub-basins in the HELCOM area where the species is known to occur regularly and to reproduce (HELCOM 2012).

This dataset describes fishing effort (hours/c-square) for midwater trawl in 2012 based on VMS/Log book data processed by ICES Working Group on Spatial Fisheries Data (WGSFD). HELCOM requires spatially explicit information on fishing activity affecting the Baltic Sea marine ecosystem for policy purposes. In order to obtain this information a joint ICES/HELCOM/OSPAR data call was issued to relevant authorities of contracting parties to deliver information on fishing activity based on VMS/Log book data. The raw data was submitted to ICES and processed to advice data products by ICES Working Group for Spatial Fisheries (WGSFD) as requested by HELCOM. Processing of the raw data requires specific resources, knowledge and guarantee of anonymity for specific vessels, thus the process was done by ICES WGSFD following Conditions for VMS data use. In 2015 ICES collated Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) and logbook data received; data from Russia were not received. ICES provided to HELCOM advice as fishing abrasion pressure maps as well as fishing effort maps. HELCOM secretariat did the following processing to the data: - Conversion to ETRS89LAEA coordinate system - Added feature and attribute "Reported" to display unreported areas. Dataset attribute information: c-square: Unique reference of the c-square polygon mid_lat: latitude coordinate of the centroid of c-square inWGS84 decimal degrees mid_lon: longitude coordinate of the centroid of c-square inWGS84 decimal degrees Year: Year of fishing activity quarter: Quarter of the year, if applicable geargroup: Fishing gear group (Effort maps) SubsurfSAR: Subsurface swept area ratio (Intensity maps) SurfSAR: Surface swept area ratio (Intensity maps) Fishing_ho: Total fishing effort in hours within c-square (Effort maps) Reported: Yes=Reported data. No= No reported data (area that does not contain effort/intensity value due to lack of reported data.

Observations of Xenus cinereus were collected from the Baltic Sea area for HELCOM Red List species list. The HELCOM Red List of Baltic Sea species in danger of becoming extinct (2013) is the first threat assessment for Baltic Sea species that covers all marine mammals, fish, birds, macrophytes (aquatic plants), and benthic invertebrates, and follows the Red List criteria of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Almost 2800 species were considered in the Red List assessment and about 1750 were evaluated according to the IUCN Red List criteria. Xenus cinereus has been placed to the Red List category of Endangered (EN) species. The map shows the species range only during breeding season.

The dataset contains information on commercial fishery in Baltic Sea in 2007 (Lithuanian data from 2008). Catches/landings are given per ICES rectangle, both as total values and per species. The dataset contains information on commercial fishery in Baltic Sea in 2007 (Lithuanian data from 2008). Catches/landings are given per ICES rectangle, both as total values and per species. All values are in tons. Data was requested from HELCOM contracting parties through HELCOM HOLAS project. Landings/ catches data from Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia is based on national data, while Russian data is based on the ICES report "Report of the Baltic Fisheries Assessment Working Group (WGBFAS)" (2008). Commercial fishery data was reported by the following persons/authorities to HELCOM Secretariat: Germany:Dr. Christopher Zimmermann (Institut für Ostseefischerei (OSF), Johann Heinrich von Thünen-Institut (vTI), Bundesforschungsinstitut für Ländliche Räume, Wald und Fischerei) Lithuania: Open sea: Irina Jakovleva (Fisheries Reguliation Division, Baltic Sea Fisheries Department, Fisheries Department under the Ministry of Agriculture); coastal: Rimantas Repecka (Head of Laboratory of Marine Ecology, Institute of Ecology of Vilnius University) Sweden: Jarl Engquist (Avdelningen för fiskerikontroll, Swedish Board of Fisheries) Latvia: Marina Fettere (Fishery and Information section, Latvian Fish Resources Agency) Finland: Pirkko Söderkultalahti (Finnish Game and Fisheries Research Institute) Estonia: Ministry of Agriculture Denmark: Troels Pade (The Danish Directorate of Fisheries, Ministry for Food, Agriculture and Fisheries) Russia: no contact person, data from ICES reports Poland: Malgorzata Marciniewicz-Mykieta (Departament Monitoringu i Informacji o Srodowisku, Glówny Inspektorat Ochrony Srodowiska) Abbreviation of species ABK=White Bream; ACC=Ruffe; ACH=Charr; ALR=Bleak; ANE=European anchovy; ANF=Anglerfishes; BLL=Brill; CAT=Rockfishes; CGO=Goldfish; COD=Cod; CRA=Marine crabs; CRE=Edible Crab; CSH=Common shrimp; DAB=Dab; DGS=Sourdog/Spint Dogfish; ELE=Eel; ELP=Eelpout; FAS=Asp; FBM=Bream; FBR=Freshwater breams; FBU=Burbot; FCC=Crucian carp; FCP=Common carp; FGR=Grayling; FID=Orfe (=Ide); FIE=Common dace; FLE=Flounder; FLX=Flatfishes; FPE=Perch; FPI=Pike; FPP=Zander (Pikeperch); FRD=Rudd; FRF=Freshwater fishes; FRO=Roach; FRU=Ruffe; FSB=Silver bream; FTE=Tench; FVE=Vendace (Cisco); FVI=Freshwater Vimba; GAR=Garfish; GPA=Gobies; GTA=Three-Spined Stickleback; GUG=Grey Gurnard; HAD=Haddock; HAL=Halibut; HER=Herring; HKE=Hake; HOM=Horse Mackarel; JAX=Jack and horse mackerels; LAR=River lamprey; LAU=Sea lamprey; LBE=European Lobster; LEM=Lemon Sole; LIN=Ling; LUM=Lumpfish; MAC=Mackerel; MLR=Thicklip Grey Mullet; MON=Monkfish; MQS=Four Spined Sculpin; MTL=Thick-lipped Mullet; MUL=Grey mullets; MUS=Blue mussel; MUX=Surmullets (= Red mullets); MZZ=Marine fishes; NBU=Round Goby NEP=Norway lobster; NOP=Norway pout; OTH=Other sp; PLA=Long-rough dab; PLE=Plaice; PLN=European Whitefish; POK=Saithe; POL=Pollack; PPZ=Common Prawn; PRA=Northern Pink Shrimp; SAL=Salmon; SAN=Sandeels; SKA=Skates, rays; SKB=Sticklebacks; SME=Smelt; SOL=Sole; SPR=Sprat; SQU=Squids; SRA=Atlantic searobins; SRE=Rudd; TAS=Twaite Shad; TGQ=Fourhorn Sculpin; TRB=Rainbow Trout; TRO=Trouts; TRR=Rainbow Trout; TRS=SeaTrout; TSD=Twaite Shad; TUR=Turbot; UNK=Unknown Catches; USK=Tusk; WEG=Greater Weever; WHB=Blue Whiting; WHF=Whitefish, Houting, Powan; WHG=Whiting; WIT=Witch; VIV=Vimba bream.