Member State report / Art18 / 2018 / D1-C / Estonia / Baltic Sea

Report type Member State report to Commission
MSFD Article Art. 18 Interim report on programme of measures
Report due 2018-10-15
GES Descriptor D1 Cephalopods
Member State Estonia
Region/subregion Baltic Sea
Reported by Estonian Environment Agency
Report date 2019-09-30
Report access msfd-ART18_1_EST_Final__30.09.2019.xml
Marine reporting units
Features
Measure code
BALEE-M001
BALEE-M002
BALEE-M005
Measure name
Developing a network of MPA in the Estonian EEZ
Compiling regional aquaculture plans to manage environmental pressures
Developing regional fishing restrictions and updating the size limits of commercial fish
Measure category (type)
2a
2a
2a
Progress in implementation
Implementation started
Implementation started
Implementation started
Measure withdrawn
No
No
No
Reason for withdrawal
Year of implementation (Temporal coverage - timeline for implementation)
2026
2026
2023
Delay
6
6
3
Reasons for delay
Data or information
Mechanism for implementation - national
Data or information
Other obstacles (Obstacles to implementation)
Yes
Yes
No
Type of obstacle
Other
Data or information
Further information on obstacle (Description)
Lack of information on species, habitats and biotopes in EEZ (needing a protection regime), thus additional inventories and research activities must be carried out before a proposal for MPAs can be made. Also national legal process for establishing new marine protected areas is more time consuming than initially envisaged and planned.
There is a lack of mechanism for the implementation at the national level, e.g. the necessary regulation or other mechanism required for implementing the measure has not yet been adopted in full extent. Also data gaps are greater than originally envisaged, to the extent that the measure cannot be implemented as planned.
Data or information needs and gaps are greater than originally envisaged.
Brief description of progress (measurement of effectiveness of measure)
Project for inventory of species/biotopes in certain parts of EEZ to prepare a proposal for open sea marine protected area(s) (MPA) in the Estonian EEZ has begun in 2018 (project end date: 31.12.2020). Further activities depend on results of the inventory and are related to preparing legal instruments. Entering them into force can be carried out after the project has ended.
Project for compiling regional aquaculture plans to manage environmental pressures has started in 2018 and will end in December 2019. Further activities related to strategic environmental assessment and approval of the regional aquaculture plans are related to the process of maritime spatial planning and can be carried out after the maritime spatial plans are approved (envisaged in 2020).
There are many finished and still ongoing projects which are contributing to the activities related to this measure, however those are not fully covering the implementation of the measure. Therefore, a project for developing regional fishing restrictions and updating the size limits of commercial fishes has started in 2018 and will end in December 2020. Further activities related to national regulation changes can be carried out after the project has ended.