This core indicator evaluates the status of the marine environment based on concentrations of heavy metal Lead (Pb) in biota. Quantitative thresholds are used to classify core indicators status in “Achieve”, “Fail” or “Not assessed”. Threshold values are based on Environmental quality standards (EQS), defined at EU level for substances included in the priority list under the Water Framework Directive. This dataset displays the result of the indicator in HELCOM Assessment Scale 4 (Division of the Baltic Sea into 17 sub-basins and further division into coastal and off-shore areas and division of the coastal areas by WFD water types or water bodies). Attribute specifications and units: "HELCOM_ID" = Code of the HELCOM scale 4 assessment unit "country": country in which the HELCOM assessment unit is located or a mention to an open sea area "level_2" = Name of the HELCOM assessment unit in scale 2 "Name" = Name of the HELCOM assessment unit in scale 4 "Open_sea" = Name of the HELCOM assessment unit in the open sea "F2_Name" = Name of the HELCOM assessment unit "determinan" = Determinat "est" = The estimated mean loge concentration in the assessment unit "se" = The standard error on the estimated mean log concentration in the assessment unit "fit" = The estimated mean concentration in the assessment unit "upper_cl" = Upper one-sided 95% confidence limit on the mean concentration: exp(est + qnorm(0.95) * see) "Status" = Overall Status of the indicator according to one-out-all-out

Dataset description: The dataset reflects spatial delineation of monitored and unmonitored catchments used for the assessment of waterborne nutrients inputs to the Baltic Sea sub-basins (Baltic Sea Environmental Fact Sheet) in the HELCOM Pollution Load Compilation. Polygonal features in the dataset cover entire river catchments without distinguishing between sub-catchments located in upstream countries. Some countries even combine unmonitored and monitored parts of river catchments into a single catchment. The Source Code attribute in the dataset corresponds to the Source_Code in the Assessment data on waterborne input of nutrients dataset. The data is reported to the HELCOM Map and Data Service (MADS) and quality assured by Contracting Parties to HELCOM in accordance with the HELCOM Guidelines for the annual and periodical compilation and reporting of waterborne pollution inputs to the Baltic Sea (HELCOM PLC-Water Guideline). Dataset content: Polygonal feature class contains the following attributes: Sub-catchment code (subc_code): Unique code for river catchments and unmonitored areas Sub-catchment name (subc_name): Name of river catchment or unmonitored area River code (r_code): Unique code of the river included in HELCOM PLC assessment. Sub-basin code (subb_code): The Baltic Sea sub-basin where the river drains to. Country code (c_code): The Country on which territory the river mouth is located, for border rivers both are mentioned. Monitoring (monitoring): The monitoring status of the river (M=monitored and U=unmonitored). Marked as monitored only if the catchment has been monitored for the entire time series. Transboundary (transboundary): Listing all countries that have the rivers drainage area on its territory. Area km2 (area_km2): The total area of the catchment in square kilometres. Year (year). Country codes used in the dataset correspond to: DK-DENMARK; EE-ESTONIA; FI-FINLAND; DE-GERMANY; LV-LATVIA; LT-LITHUANIA; PL-POLAND; RU-RUSSIA; SE-SWEDEN. The Baltic Sea sub-basin codes used in the dataset are: ARC-ARCHIPELAGO SEA; BAP-BALTIC PROPER; BOB-BOTHNIAN BAY; BOS-BOTHNIAN SEA; GUF-GULF OF FINLAND; GUR-GULF OF RIGA; KAT-KATTEGAT; SOU-SOUND; WEB-WESTERN BALTIC. Visualization: Map of catchments in the HELCOM Pollution Load Compilation. Data update: Metadata is updated by HELCOM Secretariat annually by 1 April. The dataset is updated by HELCOM Secretariat annually by 1 April.

HELCOM Marine Protected Areas database (HELCOM MPA database) contains following information: The HELCOM MPA database contains information related to each MPA described in MPA fact sheets, which contains general information on the MPA, management plans, species, biotopes, biotope complexes as well as pressures and human activities related to the MPA. The HELCOM MPA database can be access from http://mpas.helcom.fi Spatial data on areas of MPAs, described in a separate shapefile: http://metadata.helcom.fi/geonetwork/srv/eng/catalog.search#/metadata/d27df8c0-de86-4d13-a06d-35a8f50b16fa The designation of HELCOM MPAs is based on the HELCOM Recommendation 15/5 (1994). The data contained in HELCOM MPA database is reported by HELCOM Contracting Parties and has been collected since 2007 to HELCOM BSPA (Baltic Sea Protected Areas) database. The database was updated to Oracle database solution in ECONET project during 2015 and gradually updated as new information becomes available. The content of HELCOM MPA database is verified annually in HELCOM State & Conservation meetings.

This dataset represents the underlying data on the pre-core indicator Diatom/Dinoflagellate index for HOLAS 3. The core indicator evaluates phytoplankton community structure to determine whether it reflects good environmental status. Quantitative thresholds are used to evaluate if core indicators status is Good, Not good or Not assessed.

This dataset describes fishing intensity for OT SPF mobile bottom contacting gear in 2013 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 Clelandella miliaris 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. Clelandella miliaris has been placed to the Red List category of Vulnerable (VU) species. Dataset for download contains spatial grid of the Baltic Sea. Distribution of the species can be found in corresponding name column. Values are coded: 1 - Present before year 2000 or in 2000, 2 - Present after year 2000, 3 - Present both before and after year 2000.

This core indicator evaluates the state of the marine environment using distribution of the three species of seals that occur in the Baltic Sea. This dataset is for the Harbour seal. Quantitative thresholds are used to evaluate the core indicators status in "Achieve", "Fail" or "Not assessed". The core indicator has three components for each species: distribution of haul-out sites, breeding sites and foraging areas. Good status is achieved when the distribution of seals is close to pristine conditions (e.g. 100 years ago), or where appropriate when currently available haul-out sites are occupied (modern baseline), and when no decrease in area of occupation occurs. The current evaluation covers the assessment period 2011-2016. This dataset displays the result of the indicator in HELCOM Assessment Scale 2 (Division of the Baltic Sea into 17 sub-basins). Attribute information: "HELCOM_ID" = ID of the HELCOM scale 2 assessment unit "Area (km2)" = Area of the HELCOM scale 2 assessment unit "Name" = Name of the HELCOM scale 2 assessment unit "Status" = Status of the indicator (“Achieve”, “Fail” or “Not assessed”) "AULEVEL" = Assessment unit level used for the indicator

This core indicator evaluates the status of the marine environment based on concentrations of dioxin and dioxin like compounds in Baltic Sea fish, crustacean and molluscs as well as on concentrations of non-dioxin like PCB in Baltic Sea fish. Quantitative thresholds are used to evaluate if core indicators status is "Achieve", "Fail" or "Not assessed". Good status is achieved when the concentrations of PCB, dioxin and furans are below the threshold values. This dataset displays the result of the indicator in HELCOM Assessment Scale 4 (Division of the Baltic Sea into 17 sub-basins and further division into coastal and off-shore areas and division of the coastal areas by WFD water types or water bodies). Attribute information: "OBJECTID" = Object identification "HELCOM_ID" = Code of the HELCOM scale 4 assessment unit "AULEVEL" = Assessment unit level used for the indicator "Contamination ratio in biota (SCB6)" = Contamination ratio in biota for this substance "STATUS_SCB" = Status of the indicator in biota for this substance (“Achieve”, “Fail” or “Not assessed”) "Contamination ratio in biota (SDX)" = Contamination ratio in biota for this substance "STATUS_SDX" = Status of the indicator in biota for this substance (“Achieve”, “Fail” or “Not assessed”) "Overal status" = Overall Status of the indicator according to one-out-all-out (“Achieve”, “Fail” or “Not assessed”)

This dataset describes fishing intensity for subsurface mobile bottom contacting gear in 2009 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.

Summary Baltic Sea Ice Minimum 2005-2009 based on weather service observations on sea ice extent in the Baltic Sea from satellite observations. Description This dataset was compiled by Finnish Meteorological Institute (http://en.fmi.fi/) based on weather service observations on sea ice extent in the Baltic Sea from satellite observations (2005-2009). The minimum ice extent map displays the area which was covered by ice in every year of the study period. The maps were derived by digitizing existing ice extent maps to picture format and then to GIS shapefiles. Due to this reason the ice extent area should be considered as indicative especially within coastal areas. For further information, see http://www.iceservice.fi/.