In a modified form, the activity consists in research and development, the aim of which will be to develop ready-to-implement fishing gear, which on the one hand will be an attractive alternative to traditional gear in terms of fishing efficiency, and on the other hand will be safe for marine mammals and birds and resistant to seal attacks. The measure should be implemented in the form of 1 to 3 research and development projects. The implementation of tests by more than one center should contribute to the achievement of the goal by increasing the variety of prototypes developed and ready for implementation.

After the modification, the action consists in introducing corrections to the spatial development plans of sea areas, eliminating the shortcomings described in the column """"The essence of the problem"""". In particular, the following changes are proposed: Szczecin Lagoon: 14.S reservoir: for submarines 14.1, 14.2, 14.3 introduce the following arrangement: """" implementation of ports and marinas and construction of new tourist infrastructure elements, such as: houses on the water, water tram stops, viewing terraces, piers, piers, piers, slips, permanent berths for tourist units are allowed only in places meeting the requirements of maintaining the proper state of the shore protection system, without rushes before the plan comes into force and devoid of vascular submerged vegetation. 19.S reservoir: for sub-basins 19.2 and 19.3 prohibit the construction of ports, marinas and elements of tourist infrastructure due to the presence of forested buildings distant from the areas and unsupported shore; for submenu 19.1, introduce the following statement: """" the construction of ports and marinas and the construction of new tourist infrastructure elements, such as: houses on the water, water tram stops, viewing terraces, piers, piers, piers, slipways, permanent berths for tourist units is allowed only in places meeting the requirements for maintaining the proper state of the coastal protection system, without rushes prior to the entry into force of the plan and without vascular submerged vegetation. """" Water reservoir 27: for sub-basins 27.1, 27.2, 27.3, 27.4, introduce the following arrangement: """" implementation of ports and marinas and construction of new tourist infrastructure elements, such as: houses on the water, water tram stops, observation decks, piers, piers, piers, slips, permanent berths for tourist units are allowed only in places meeting the requirements of maintaining the proper state of the coastal protection system, without rushes before the plan becomes effective and devoid of vascular submerged vegetation. """" Reservoir 59.R, 63.R: in those basins with a natural littoral area and usually adjacent to uninvested areas, full discretion was left to assess whether investments in the coastal zone / littoral zone will pose a threat to the natural values 35.W - despite the protective provisions in the text, the drawing shows the possibility of destroying the natural shore at a distance of about 1.5 km, in the vicinity of the Karsiborskie Paprocie reserve, whose unique natural values ??depend, among others, on from the preservation of natural water conditions. Kamienski Lagoon: 1.R - ??in sub-quote 1.4, tourist infrastructure in natural littoral with a wide strip of reeds is allowed, in the absence of existing buildings in the vicinity 10.S - outside the basin 10.1, tourist infrastructure is allowed in mostly intact littoral, with little development in the neighborhood 17.R - in sub-quote 17.1, mostly intact littoral tourist infrastructure was allowed, with a negligible degree of buildings in the neighborhood 21.S - in a body of water with a natural littoral with a wide strip of rushes, there is only """"a ban on the construction of new tourist infrastructure elements, such as: houses on the water, water tram stops, viewing terraces"""", but there is no ban on the construction of ports, marinas, jetties, etc. Such a provision may lead to the conclusion, by analogy to the provisions in other waters, that since ports, harbors, piers, etc. have not been listed, their construction is permissible 23.S - in a water with an almost intact littoral with a wide strip of rushes, there is only """"a ban on building new tourist infrastructure elements, such as: houses on the water, water tram stops, viewing terraces"""", but there is no ban on building ports, marinas, jetties, etc. .. Such provisions may lead to the conclusion, by analogy with the provisions in other waters, that since ports, harbors, piers, etc. have not been listed, their construction is permissible. Vistula Lagoon: Thanks to the provision that the function of """"shore protection"""" includes """"the prohibition of destroying reeds, which constitute a natural protection against the damaging effects of undulations"""" and extending the shore protection function as the basic one to the vast majority of reeds not included in the basic function """"protection of the environment and nature"""", the draft plan provides generally a very high degree of protection of the key biodiversity of the littoral zone. However, here is an exception: - in the 38th water basin, liquidation of reed beds for the needs of tourism, sports and recreation has been allowed, along a section of approx. 2.7 km, adjacent to undeveloped areas of very doubtful suitability for construction (drained wet meadows).

After the modification, the action will be: 1) developing guidelines for conducting environmental impact assessments for projects involving the exploration and extraction of minerals from the seabed, 2) agreeing the guidelines with the minister responsible for the environment, 3) conducting training of administration employees in the application of the guidelines. The guidelines will be developed, inter alia, on the basis of documents from the European Commission and HELCOM, a review of experiences and best practices in European countries and a review of experiences and previous practices in Poland. The guidelines will present the indicated approach to issues such as: - analysis of potential threats related to the exploration and extraction of minerals, - minimum requirements for techniques for prospecting and extracting minerals, - minimum requirements for inventory and pre-implementation monitoring, including inventory of nature, cultural heritage and potentially dangerous anthropogenic objects (wrecks, dumped ammunition, etc.), - the method of assessing impacts that are difficult to measure, including impacts on living organisms, - method of assessing cumulative effects. The training will cover employees of institutions involved in EIA and geological concessions.

The measure is aimed at limiting the negative displacement of spoil within waters, while maintaining an appropriate level of protection of the land environment. Due to administrative procedures, the most common method of spoil management is its management within waters, which is related to the degradation of the marine environment. It is proposed to carry out an analysis on the possibility of changing the legal provisions on reducing the formation of dredging spoil, safe management of dredging spoil and waste resulting from spoil processing. As part of the task, conclusions resulting from the developed guidelines and completed projects will be analyzed: - Guidelines for an ecosystem-based methodology for the selection of a marine sediment deposition site and for the management of coastal lapping sites in the South-Eastern Baltic Sea - SMOCS - Sustainable Management of Contaminated Sediments in the Baltic Sea - http://www.dredgdikes.eu. - practical implementation of recommendation 36/2 of HELCOM and subsequent updates of the above-mentioned reporting recommendations Development of guidelines for dealing with sediments (dredging spoil), including the development of an algorithm for dealing with dredging works in the case of contaminated sediments. Performing an analysis of the legal possibilities of using, including end-of-waste, for uncontaminated spoil in order to facilitate management outside the waters - analysis of the legal status and necessary changes in legislation.

The action will consist in developing a concept for strengthening marine protected areas, meeting the objectives of the EU's 2030 biodiversity strategy. The natural legitimacy and socio-economic feasibility will be analysed, as well as the expected natural benefits and socio-economic impacts of the various options for extending the coverage of protected areas and creating strict or near-strict protection areas. As part of the action, a broad public consultation of the concept will be carried out. The concept will be the starting point for possible subsequent decisions on this matter

The aim of the action is to improve the protection of marine Natura 2000 sites and other marine and coastal forms of nature conservation by raising the ecological awareness of coastal communities, raising the necessary detailed knowledge of key stakeholder groups, including representatives and officials of local governments, fishermen, farmers, representatives of the tourism sector and local environmental organisations, and constructive dialogue with such groups, aimed at to increase public acceptance of the necessary measures to protect biodiversity. In accordance with the above objective, the action should include two parallel elements, i.e.: – an educational campaign addressed to a wide range of recipients, such as coastal communities and seaside tourists, - activities focused on strengthening the knowledge of key stakeholder groups and dialogue with them.

The aim of the action is to broaden and disseminate knowledge on the impact of bottom fishing on benthic communities and the circulation of matter, including nutrients, in the Polish part of the Baltic Sea. The research program, based on both in situ research and laboratory experiments, should be structured in such a way as to answer at least the following questions: - what is the relationship between the species composition and abundance of benthic communities on the frequency of bottom fishing, - what is the scale of sediment re-suspension as a result of bottom trawling with various types of gear, - what is the scale of the release of organic matter, nutrients and hazardous substances to the water column as a result of bottom trawling with various types of gear (including comparison of the content in the intensively trawled and non-tarred bottom and in the water column above the intensively trawled and non-tarred bottom). The results should concern various types of bottom and trawling depth, representative for the Polish part of the Baltic Sea. In addition, the activity will include a review of the world literature on the impacts of bottom fishing on the marine environment and methods of reducing these impacts. In addition to the strictly scientific and research part, the action will include the development of guidelines for the licensing authority for commercial sea fishing on the regulation of bottom fishing (optimal tools among those already available on the market, permitted frequency of trawling in the same places depending on local conditions, conditions excluding trawling due to the impact on the environment). As part of the action, proposals for indicators to assess features 6 and 7 in high seas should be developed and submitted to the relevant HELCOM groups and the European Commission, unless such indicators are previously agreed internationally.

The action will consist in: - introduction of procedures enabling the Maritime Offices (UM) and Regional Directorates for Environmental Protection (RDOS) to monitor the cumulative scale of anthropogenic transformations of the seabed and seashores on an ongoing basis, so that the cumulative impacts on the scale of waters for which the assessment of the state of the marine environment is prepared can be performed on an ongoing basis take into account when making decisions as part of environmental impact assessment procedures - revision of the approach to the protection of sea coasts in terms of minimizing transformations in the coastal strip. Maritime Offices will keep a graphic and text database on permanent changes and disturbances to the seabed, including information on the location and area of ??the seabed occupied by hydrotechnical structures, the location and length of linear hydrotechnical structures, the location and area of ??the seabed occupied by artificial islands and structures. and the location and surface of the bottom transformed as a result of dredging, depositing of spoil (dump site), dredging, aggregate extraction, use as an anchorage, etc. The database should contain, inter alia, information on the dates of permanent changes and disturbances, including the dates of recent dredging. Maritime Offices will make the database available to the Regional Directorates for Environmental Protection. On the basis of these data, the values ??of indicators describing Feature 6 (maintaining the integrity of the seabed at a level ensuring the protection of the structure and functions of benthic ecosystems and no negative impact on these ecosystems) and Feature 7 (permanent change in hydrographic properties with no negative impact on marine ecosystems) of the state will be calculated. marine environment. Currently, these are the indicators listed in the ordinance of the Minister of Infrastructure of February 25, 2021 on adopting the update of the set of properties typical for good environmental status of marine waters (Journal of Laws, item 568). It should be expected that in the future these indicators will be replaced by indicators developed at the regional level or by new national indicators. It cannot be ruled out that the new indicators will require an expansion of the scope of collected data on permanent changes and physical disturbances to the bottom.

According to the present state of knowledge (standard data forms), the underwater habitats of Natura 2000 in Polish maritime areas cover 2172 km2, which is 9.6% of Polish maritime areas. In some of these habitats (inundations), bottom trawling is practically not carried out at all. The 3-6 nautical mile coastal strip has been banned from bottom fishing due to the conservation of fish stocks. Thus, the ban would have a real impact on the situation of about 3-5% of the Polish maritime areas, mainly in the TSS """"Slupska Bank"""" and Pomeranian Bay areas. It should be added that, according to HELCOM TSS data, """"Slupska Bank"""" is poorly used by bottom trawls, so the significant area of ??a possible conflict between the protection of biodiversity and fisheries is limited to approx. 600 km2 Pomeranian Bay, ie less than 3% of Polish maritime areas. Pursuant to Art. 11 sec. 1 of the Common Fisheries Policy, Member States are entitled to unilaterally adopt conservation measures for their fishing vessels, but they must agree, first in regional fora, and then apply to the European Commission for measures that would also affect the interests of other countries. Unilateral adoption by Poland of conservation measures, although legally possible, would be unfair to the Polish fisheries sector, and the effectiveness of action would be lower due to the possibility of bottom fishing by other countries. It is also important to raise awareness of the obligations arising from Art. 11 of the CAP and the procedures for establishing Natura 2000 protection plans """"

The activity will be of a research and pilot nature, and its possible results will serve in subsequent planning cycles as the basis for more extensive activities aimed at the fullest possible restoration of the seaweed and fork meadows in the Puck Lagoon. The action will include: – collection and analysis of available literature on occurrence, morphology, biology and causes of the disappearance of the seaweed and forkbeard in the Puck Lagoon, - to investigate by genetic methods the relationship between herbarium specimens of hake and forkbeard from the Puck Lagoon and seaweed and forkbeard from other Baltic and northern European populations, including primarily free-floating forms inhabiting the sandy bottom (Fucus vesiculosus forma baltica, Furcellaria lumbricata forma aegagropila), - review of previously developed or proposed methods of propagation and breeding of seaweed and forkbeard under controlled conditions for research, commercial purposes or to obtain material for entering the environment, with particular emphasis on free-floating forms, – selection of breeding and breeding methods potentially best suited to the conditions of the Puck Lagoon, - mastering and improving the methods of reproduction and breeding, both in laboratory conditions and in controlled in situ conditions (separated """"plots"""" in the area of former occurrence of seaweed meadows), - conducting under controlled in situ conditions a series of experiments to determine the effects on individual and population development of factors such as starting genetic material, exposure/depth, exposure to undulation, competition of opportunistic species, feeding on the backs of invertebrates and fish, etc., - a multifaceted analysis of the current state of the area of former seaweed meadows, with particular emphasis on the conditions and internal and external threats that may be important for the chances of success of the programme, - publication of the obtained results and development of guidelines / recommendations for further actions for the restoration of seaweed meadows in the Puck Lagoon.