Photo: Terhi Ryttäri

HELCOM Red List of Species

and Biotopes

Progress of the project

HELCOM RED LIST Fishes28 February-1 March 2012

Project Coordinator Jannica Haldin

Checklists of Baltic Sea Species

Checklists of Baltic Sea species

• Publication:• All checklists and their

documentation compiled into one document

• Publication on the HELCOM webpages by 1 March 2012

• Scientific publication on checklist by the Benthic Invertebrates team & possibly the Macrophyte team

• After publication: one month of public review during which the scientific community can scrutinize and supply comments/suggestions.

• Comments collected at Secretariat, then forwarded to the teams→final update

Assessments

Assessments of species• Follows the IUCN guidelines for

regional assessments• Assessment templates can be used• All species/biotopes found in the previous

Red Lists (BSEPs 75, 109 and 113) must be assessed any changes in status documented

• Assessments are to be documented by the experts on the documentation template

• → Information to be used on the Species Information Sheet

Assessments

• Species information sheet to be compiled for every species on the list of assessed species (CR,EN,VU, NT and DD) as well as any previously redlisted pecies that now falls outside the threath categories.

AssessmentsSpecies information sheet should contain:

– Scientific name– Species authority– Taxonomic group– IUCN criteria– Red List category– Picture/drawing– Distribution and status in

the Baltic Sea region– Distribution map– Habitat and Ecology– Description of major

threats

– Assessment justification– Recommendations for

actions to conserve the species

– ReferencesLegend

Arctica_islandica_MADS_ICES_20Kgrid

records

2000 or after

before 2000

HELCOM Red List Activites

HELCOM Red List Project 2009-2013

• Teams have worked in 2010-2011 e.g. to– finalize the checklists of the Baltic Sea species– harmonize the assessment principles among

species teams (IUCN Red List criteria and guidelines are followed)

– collect distributional data for species– continue the development of biotope

classification of the Baltic Sea trough the BSEUNIS project

Red List of species activities in 2010-2011

• Macrophyte Team has held four meetings:- checklist and distributional data finalized- list of species which clearly represent the IUCN

Red List categories Least Concern (LC, not threatened), Not Applicable (NA, e.g. introduced species) and Not Evaluated (NE, very poorly known taxa that cannot be evaluated at all)

- list of candidate species (about 60 species)- species divided between experts for assessment

at the last meeting in October in Gothenburg, Sweden

- Next meeting 21-23.3 at Askö fieldstation, Sweden

Foto:Malin EK

Foto: Metsähallitus/Jan Ekebom

• Benthic Invertebrate Team has held three meetings:

- checklist and distributional data finalized- list of species which clearly represent the

IUCN Red List categories Least Concern, Not Applicable and Not Evaluated

- list of candidate species (over 240 species)- Species divided between experts for

assessment at the last meeting in Rostock, Germany.

- due to the very large amount of species to be assessed the deadline for the BI team was postponed until the middle of June 2012

- Scientific manuscript submitted to Oceanologica

Foto: Metsähallitus/Jan Ekebom

Foto: Raisa Turja

Red List of species activities in 2010-2011

Red List of species activities in 2010-2011

• Fish Team had its second meeting in December 2011:- checklist finalized- list of species which clearly represent the IUCN

Red List categories Least Concern and Not Applicable

- list of candidate species (about 120 species)- next meeting 28 February-1 March in Uppsala,

Sweden

Foto: Metsähallitus/Jan Ekebom

Foto: Metsähallitus/Jan Ekebom

Red List of species activities in 2010-2011

•Waterbirds Team -produced a final draft for the Red List of Baltic Breeding -draft has been published on the HELCOM webpages in January 2012-Will be incorporated into the HELCOM Red List of Baltic Sea Species by early 2013-produced a proposal for a Red List of birds wintering in the Baltic and are currently making a Red List of Baltic Sea Wintering Birds

Foto: Jannica Haldin

Foto: Jannica HaldinFoto: Jannica Haldin

Red List of species activities in 2010-2011

• Marine Mammals Team had its first meeting in September 2011:

- checklist finalized- species to be assessed divided between

experts

Foto: Jannica Haldin

HELCOM Red List Biotopes work

•Biotopes Team has had four meetings, the last one 11-12.10 in Vilnius:

- has started the project for creating a compatible EUNIS classification for the Baltic Sea habitats/biotopes

- to be a cooperation between consultants and the work of expert workshops.

- assessment to be partly based on expert questionnaire

- assessments to be made parallel to the classification work.

Foto: Raisa Turja

Foto: Metsähallitus/Jan Ekebom

Foto: Metsähallitus/Jan Ekebom

Structure of HELCOM Biotopes work

• Four subtasks almost finalized:

– Checklists of the Baltic Sea species– Distributional datasets for the Baltic Sea for all

species– Lists of species to be assessed– Lists of species which clearly represent categories

Least Concern, Not Applicable and Not Evaluated

• Next tasks:

– Collect data for the species to be assessed in more detail

– Prepare assessments for them (in all about 390 species)

– Document the assessments– Compile Species Information Sheets– Finalize the Red List for the Baltic Sea report

Red List of species activities in 2011-2012

Red List timetable for 2011-2012

2011 Finalization of checklists and distributional data, listing species that are Gathering data for the assessments of candidate species and their assessments (T assisted by S)

clearly Least Concern, Not Applicable or Not Evaluated Preparation of Species Information Sheets (T assisted by S?)

HELCOM HABITAT in May

2012

Gathering of data continues

Checks of results and

editorial w ork w ith Species Information Sheets (S)

Analyses of overall results, preparation of general texts and editorial w ork w ith group texts (S)

Layout for the species section and/or preparations for w eb publishing (S)

Finalizing and publishing

Preparation of Sheets continues

Preparing results texts by groups

(T)

HELCOM HABITAT in May

Species Information Sheets for f inal check-up to teams

Potential results checks in teams