Baltic Sea recovery: bridging science and policy in Lithuania

On 18 September 2025, and as part of theAnnual Science Conference 2025, the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) and the European Commission's Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG MARE) co-hosted the side event "For and from the Baltic: Navigating the future of fisheries with ecosystem-based management".

The event gathered a diverse group of stakeholders, including scientists, policymakers, and representatives of regional organisations, to reflect on the urgent challenges facing the Baltic Sea and to explore strategies for its recovery and long-term resilience. The Director-General of DG MARE, Charlina Vitcheva, opened the side event and took part in the high-level roundtable. The exchange of views took place in a series of roundtables that featured discussions on:

• Coordination enhancement: encouraging a stronger collaboration among regional actor to efficiently allocate resources and avoid duplicating efforts.
• Science adaptation: focusing on adapting scientific research to rapidly changing environmental conditions, economic realities, and policy landscapes, with an emphasis on integrating long-term science and policy actions.
• Deployment of advanced tools: promoting the use of new tools such as the Digital Twin of the Ocean and integrated ecosystem assessments to improve ecosystem management.

Participants concluded with a joint statement, which will be presented at the Our BalticMinisterial Conference on 30 September in Stockholm, Sweden. It stresses that adaptive science, combined with coordinated governance across sectors, is needed to translate knowledge into operational action for the recovery and resilience of the Baltic Sea. Priorities include:

• ensuring long-term resources and investment in science, coordination and science-policy integration
• building research capacity through stronger collaboration among ICES, the Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission (HELCOM), national institutes, universities and projects
• operationalising new tools such as the Digital Twin of the Ocean, integrated ecosystem assessments and the ICES Framework for Ecosystem-Informed Science and Advice (FEISA)

The event underlined that only through cooperation among all Member States around the Baltic Sea, institutions and stakeholders can efforts be reinforced to address complex ecosystem-based management challenges and achieve the recovery of the Baltic Sea.

International Council for the Exploration of the Sea and Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and fisheries' joint statement on adaptive science and coordinated governance for cross-sector action towards Baltic Sea recovery