The view that the Baltic Sea is one of the most polluted seas in the world may sound implausible at first, especially for someone who has seen the oil

How healthy the Baltic Sea and its fish are

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2021-06-14 03:00:11

The view that the Baltic Sea is one of the most polluted seas in the world may sound implausible at first, especially for someone who has seen the oil fields of the North Sea, the trade ports of Hamburg, or the garbage-filled bays of Southeast Asia.

There are two reasons for that. Firstly, when speaking about pollution, people tend to lump together maritime traffic, urban sewage, and industrial pollution, as well as nutrient runoff from agriculture. While the former involve specific contaminants, nutrients are not toxic but impact the environment through indirect processes.

However, oxygen depletion in the waters, caused by excess nutrient loads, algal blooms and other stressors, contribute to increasing the impact of contamination from toxic substances and sources.

Secondly, the Baltic Sea is an inland sea, and the substances and problems that have once influenced the waters tend to persist. Even today, traces of the insecticide DDT can be found in the sediment layer of the Baltic Sea, regardless of the fact that the substance has been banned on these shores for dozens of years.

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