Signal No square metre of Baltic seafloor left unaltered

Summary

The report treats the Baltic Sea as a case study in the loss of seafloor integrity. Human disturbance began there earlier than in most other seas, and the report describes its present health as disastrous. Taking landforms, biogeochemistry and seabed life together, not one square metre of the Baltic seafloor is left untouched by human change. Decades of bottom trawling, eutrophication and oxygen loss have transformed large areas, lowering habitat quality, biodiversity and the functioning of seabed ecosystems. These changes feed on each other, so recovery grows harder even when single pressures are eased. The report suggests the Baltic offers a preview of how marine ecosystems may change in the Anthropocene as technology brings more of the global seafloor within human reach.