CCB's submission on the European Ocean Act

Priorities for the Baltic Sea

• Underline the importance of addressing regional challenges, especially eutrophication and hazardous substances.
• Account for climate change impacts in managing the sea area and resources.
• Tackle poor ecosystem health and Baltic Sea fish stocks by integrating fisheries and aquaculture into national and regional Maritime Spatial Plans (MSPs).
• Protect and restore marine habitats to rebuild ecosystem resilience and support biodiversity.
• Consider the cumulative impact of all human-induced pressures on the marine ecosystem.
• Strengthen cross-border and sea-basin coordination.

The Ocean Act

• Ensure alignment of all ocean-related policies with EU environmental objectives.
• Include Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and restoration areas in the Ocean Act.
• Integrate an ecosystem-based approach into Maritime Spatial Plans (MSPs).
• Align the Ocean Act with the goals and objectives of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP).
• Improve land-sea interface requirements to prevent harm to marine ecosystems.
• Enhance the role of Regional Sea Conventions (RSCs) in implementing the Ocean Act and EU marine legislation.

Guiding Recommendations

• Support source-to-sea restoration efforts in riverine, coastal, and marine ecosystems.
• Advocate for the establishment of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs).
• Implement an ecosystem-based approach in MSPs.
• Integrate fisheries and aquaculture into MSPs to reduce their impact on habitats and species.
• Align the Ocean Act with CFP goals.
• Improve land-sea interface requirements.
• Strengthen the role of RSCs.

Supplemental Documents

• Guiding Recommendations for Source-to-Sea Restoration in Riverine, Coastal, and Marine Ecosystems (Coalition Clean Baltic, 2025)
• Position Paper on Marine Protected Areas (Coalition Clean Baltic, 2024)
• Don’t sink the Common Fisheries Policy – fulfil its potential (joint NGO Briefing, 2025)
• Blue Manifesto (joint NGO paper, 2024)