BSEP116B Biodiversity in the Baltic Sea - Helcom

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and fish in the Baltic Sea area. These activities are
often localized and short-term, but whenever they
proceed during extended periods, they may exclude
animals from vital feeding or breeding areas thus
causing temporary habitat degradation. As far as
the impact of noise pollution is concerned, industrial
activities such as construction and extraction appear
to be of particular concern in the Baltic Sea besides
the increasing volume of shipping.
Noise of less critical frequencies to marine animals
but of a chronic nature, such as that derived
from shipping, operating wind farms and highfrequency
ship SONAR, may in the long-term
pose a more serious risk to marine animals e.g.
by masking important biological signals. With an
anticipated increase in marine traffic (see Chapter
6.2, Maritime activities) and an increasing number
of existing and planned technical installations
(see Chapter 6.3, Physical damage and disturbances),
noise pollution must be considered to be
a growing pressure to the biodiversity of the Baltic
Sea.
6.9 Hunting
Regardless of the stepping into an industrialized
world, hunting has continued to be an important
part of human activities, also in the Baltic Sea area.
Only quite recently, it can be said that hunting
no longer provides a significant food source for
people. Nevertheless, hunting is still a popular
recreational activity and can in some cases be considered
also as a management measure in nature
conservation or in mitigating harmful interactions
between man and nature. However, in this section
hunting is perceived mainly as a pressure to biodiversity
in the Baltic Sea.
6.9.1 Hunting of sea birds
Waterfowl hunting has a long tradition in the
Baltic Sea littoral states. However, in recent times
hunting has decreased as seen in the declining
bag size of ducks. One reason for this decrease
are hunting restrictions due to the EU Birds Directive.
Furthermore, the general interest of hunting
seabirds seems to decline (Bregnballe et al.
2006). On the other hand, the bag size of geese
shows an increasing trend in several countries
(e.g. Poland, Estonia, and the German Federal
State Schleswig-Hostein). One reason may be the
increasing populations of greylag goose (Anser
anser) and Canada goose (Branta canadensis) in
the Baltic Sea area.
The most important group of game birds are
ducks, both dabbling and diving ducks. The
species number for which hunting is permitted
varies among the countries. In Denmark and
Finland, for instance, hunting is practised on
6 dabbling duck and 8 diving duck species, in
Sweden on 3 and 8, respectively, whereas the
hunting law of the German Federal States Schleswig-Holstein
and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
assigns hunting seasons only for 3 dabbling and 2
diving duck species.
Among the diving ducks, the eider (Somateria
mollissima) was, and still is, one of the most
important target species for hunters, especially in
Denmark, Sweden, and Finland (Figure 6.9.1). The
total eider bag of the Baltic Sea area has declined
from 150 000–250 000 birds in the 1980s to currently
70 000–80 000. The strong hunting pressure
in the 1980s did not prevent the population
from growing, though it possibly led to a decline
of growth rates. On the other hand, hunting is
certainly not the main reason for the currently
negative population trend, but it may enhance the
decline.
Another important game duck is the mallard
(Anas plathyrhynchos). The Danish bag of this
species was 554 000–731 000 ducks between
1999/00 and 2003/04. However, the majority of
the birds was released from breeding stations just
for hunting purposes. In Finland, the mallard bag
was 210 000–295 000 birds between 2003/04
and 2006/07. In the German Baltic Federal States
Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Western
Pomerania, the mallard accounts for more than
90% of the duck bag.
The most important game goose in the southwestern
Baltic Sea (Denmark and Germany) is the
greylag goose (Anser anser), but white-fronted
goose (Anser albifrons), bean goose (Anser
fabalis), pink-footed goose (Anser brachyrhinchus),
Canada goose (Branta canadensis) and barnacle
goose (Branta leucopsis) are also being hunted.
Goose hunting is also practised in Finland, Sweden,
Estonia and Poland (Table 6.9.1). In Finland, the