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In the broadcast of Polish Radio – Sygnały Dnia, Przemysław Gruszecki, director of the Department of Water Environment Management in Polish Waters, and Joanna Sasal, deputy director, talked about the program “Protect the Sea”. We cordially invite you to listen!
Source: Sygnały Dnia, Polskie Radio, 3rd of November 2021 r.
The Baltic Sea is one of the shallowest and most polluted seas in the world. The key threats to its ecosystem are progressive eutrophication (survival of the marine environment), intensive fishing and pollution of the marine environment. In 1997, the Helsinki Commission designated March 22 as the World Day for the Protection of the Baltic Sea to draw attention to the need for immediate action to improve its condition.
Nearly 80 percent pollution ends up in the sea from land. Their source is ourselves. Almost half of the waste in the Baltic Sea comes from households. – But that’s not all – emphasized Joanna Sasal, deputy director of the Department of Water Environment Management in Polish Waters.
In order to improve the condition of our sea, a comprehensive Baltic Sea protection program was developed. It involves 60 actions. – They concern, inter alia, strengthening the protection of certain species, activities related to the collection of waste from ships, activities aimed at reducing the phenomenon of ghost nets in the sea. We are talking about a whole package of measures which, we hope, will bring us closer to achieving our environmental goals, because we cannot dream of achieving them within six years, admitted Przemysław Gruszecki.
Source: Sygnały Dnia, Polskie Radio, 10th of November 2021 r.
The Baltic Sea is shallow and much smaller than we might think. In addition, it is intensively “supplied” by fresh waters, rich in nutrients from human activities, including agriculture. This causes algae blooms. – Our sea turns green during the summer holidays, there are bathing bans – said Joanna Sasal, deputy director of the Department of Aquatic Environment Management in Polish Waters.
As a result of algae bloom, the transmission of solar rays to deeper layers is limited, which results in the loss of other species of sea grasses. The rotting algae deplete the oxygen from the bottom layers. There are parts of the Baltic Sea that are deprived of oxygen in the deeper layers – the so-called dead zones.
The noise caused by mechanical devices also has a negative impact on the aquatic environment. – In this case, we propose two actions – the creation of a noise register and the creation of seasonal underwater noise maps. This is the first step – said Przemysław Gruszecki, director of the Department of Aquatic Environment Management in Polish Waters.
