On 18 September 2025, ICES General Secretary Alan Haynie and the European Commission's Directorate General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG MARE) Director-General Charlina Vitcheva opened "For and from the Baltic: Navigating the future of fisheries with ecosystem-based management” in Klaipėda, Lithuania. Co-hosted by the two organizations, the event was celebrated as part of ICES Annual Science Conference 2025.
The event brought together a diverse group of stakeholders, including scientists, policymakers, and regional representatives, to address the pressing challenges facing the Baltic Sea and explore strategies for its recovery and long-term resilience. Speakers included ICES President Carl O'Brien, Science Committee Chair David Reid, and Advisory Committee Chair Colm Lordan. The exchange of views took place in a series of roundtables that featured discussions on:
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.
Participants concluded with a joint statement, which will be presented at the third edition Our Baltic Ministerial Conference, which is organized by the European Commission 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:
building research capacity through stronger collaboration among ICES, HELCOM, national institutes, universities, and projects;
In closing, ICES Advisory Committee Vice-Chair Marie-Julie Roux emphasised that the discussions reflected a shared commitment to mobilise and expand knowledge, scientific practice and policy to meet the interconnected challenges of the Baltic Sea. Participants stressed the need for sustained investment in marine science, transdisciplinary collaboration, and closing key data gaps, particularly in coastal areas and small-scale fisheries.
Increasing informal dialogues between all stakeholders will foster trust, coordination, and actionable solutions. To support this, ICES and its partners reaffirm their role in advancing ecosystem-based management and supporting the long-term recovery and resilience of the Baltic Sea.
Baltic Statement
