When this year’s seal hunt begins on Monday, 1,350 gray seals, 200 harbor seals, and 200 ringed seals may be hunted. That is more than last year, and the increased quota has outraged the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation, which believes the seal population is at risk in the long term.
In February 2026, historically low water levels were recorded in the Baltic Sea, in some places, the lowest in almost 100 years. This was mainly due to a stable high-pressure system and strong easterly winds over Scandinavia, which pushed water out of the Baltic Sea. There was hope that fresh, oxygen-rich and salty water would flow in from the North Sea to the heavily tested inland sea and its oxygen-depleted seabed – but that did not happen. Find out why in the news report.
Two vessels suspected of belonging to the Russian shadow fleet remain off the coast of Trelleborg. In March 2026, the Swedish authorities boarded the vessels, which are believed to be transporting Russian oil under a false flag. Russia regards this type of action as piracy.
The Russian shadow fleet is a hot topic as the ten countries in the UK-led defence partnership JEF meet in Helsinki. ‘The shadow fleet must be tackled more rigorously,’ says British Prime Minister Keir Starmer as the meeting begins.
Keep Sweden Tidy has been working with various partners in Finland and Estonia to remove abandoned fishing gear from the Baltic Sea. At the same time, it has been raising awareness of the problem of ghost nets, amongst other things, among recreational anglers and the general public. Over the three years the project has been running, nearly 9,000 metres of ghost nets and over two tonnes of lost fishing gear have been retrieved from the sea.
It may be some time before the two vessels, which are suspected of being part of the Russian shadow fleet, are able to leave Swedish waters. ‘It will probably not happen quickly,’ says Mattias Lindholm, press officer at the Swedish Coast Guard.
The search for sites in Sweden where carbon dioxide can be stored beneath the seabed has been underway for three years. Two potential sites have now been identified. ‘We've received some excellent samples and the results so far are very promising,’ says Sofie Lindström of the Geological Survey of Sweden (SGU).
The Baltic Sea countries will strengthen the monitoring of underwater cables and ships. The Coast Guard will be the Swedish hub for sharing information and protecting cables. ‘Together, we will become sharper and more powerful in detecting and responding to various incidents, especially those related to cable security,’ says Lena Lindgren Schelin, Director General of the Coast Guard.
The Baltic Sea is suffering from a serious ecological crisis. Above all, it is the high levels of phosphorus that cause oxygen-depleted areas and severe recurring algae blooms. Phosphorus is an essential element and an important component in agricultural fertilisers, but when it leaks into the Baltic Sea, it has a severe impact on the sea.
This year, water equivalent to almost two Lake Vänerns has been pushed out of the Baltic Sea. At the same time, the record low water level offers some hope for the oxygen-depleted seabed of the inland sea. ‘But it would be a bit like winning five Triss lottery tickets in a row,’ says Jörgen Öberg, oceanographer at SMHI.
For the first time in half a century, Sweden is investing in large modern warships. The new frigates cost billions and can hunt submarines, act as floating air defence and secure the vital sea route to Sweden.
Toxic bathing water, dead fish and dead seabeds – the impact of climate change on the sea is becoming increasingly clear. But the fight against marine death begins well inland. ‘2018 was a wake-up call,’ says the Swedish farmer Erika Olsson, one of many who have created wetlands.
The quotas for herring fishing in the Baltic Sea in 2026 have been decided by the EU Council of Ministers. Now, voices are being raised from several quarters that the fishing quotas in the Bothnian Sea and Bothnian Bay are illegally high.
The world's largest environmental network, IUCN, has this week adopted motion 061 at its international nature conservation congress, calling on states to recognise ecocide, i.e. large-scale environmental destruction, as a serious crime under national and international law.
The European Commission proposes that the fishing quota for herring in the central Baltic Sea – which was doubled this year amid widespread criticism – be kept. At the same time, it wants to reduce herring fishing in the Gulf of Bothnia.
Security is tight as the Baltic Sea gets its largest offshore wind farm, just a few nautical miles from Kaliningrad in Russia. “We must be ready,” warns the Polish government.
Outdated rules governing access to the Baltic Sea must be changed due to Russia's shadow fleet, urges Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski.
The NATO exercise Baltops, which begins tomorrow in the Baltic Sea, is, according to Russia, ‘extremely provocative’. The exercise, in which Sweden and the United States are participating, is seen as a build-up to combat against Russia.
The Baltic Sea porpoise is currently endangered, with its population at historically low levels. The EU wants Sweden to implement measures to save it. But it turns out to be more difficult than expected.
A couple of weeks ago, the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management (HaV) concluded in an investigation that two of the three seal species that inhabits Swedish waters are declining. The grey seal is increasing overall, but it has moved over to the Finnish side, the harbor seals are threatened by a total population crash, while the ringed seals have a stable population so far. Yet the government now wants to increase seal hunting to save the fish.
In February, the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management extended the trawling ban from four nautical miles to twelve nautical miles. The ban intends to protect herring in the central area of the Baltic Sea. But marine ecologist Henrik Svedäng do not believe it will make a difference.
Methane from the exploded Nord Stream pipeline has spread to large parts of the southern Baltic Sea. Over 20 marine protected areas are affected. This is according to a new study. - ‘How long the methane stayed in the sea and how far it could spread was quite striking to me,’ says Bastien Queste, associate professor of oceanography and co-author of the study.
A Swedish company has been authorised to investigate the possibility of extracting mineral nodules from the seabed in the Gulf of Bothnia. They are said to be important for the green transition. Researchers will now provide answers to how the extraction would affect the organisms living at the bottom of the sea.
I write this as COP 16, the UN summit meeting on biodiversity, has just ended in the Colombian coastal city of Cali. On a human level there is progress: indigenous people are promised a stronger voice in the fight to protect threatened species on planet Earth. Many of these nations live near the oceans, some on islands that are also threatened with extinction because of climate change. Their voices will be important for the protection of those who inhabit the oceans.
