PROTECT BALTIC

August has been a landmark month for ocean protection — and for PROTECT BALTIC 🌊✨ Here’s what’s inside this month’s news blast: 🎉 MPA DAY 2025 – the largest yet, uniting people in 30+ countries. PROTECT BALTIC guided the global communications effort, bringing local stories together into one shared narrative. 🌍 European highlights – our partners in Finland, Germany, and Lithuania engaged communities on the ground, while a Baltic-led international webinar showcased how to scale up marine protection worldwide, and many partners helped to raise awareness online. 4️⃣ Project milestones – four new deliverables, including a restoration action plan and toolbox, spatial mapping layers, and a data model for the MPA Portal. 🎲 Ecosfera Baltica launched – HELCOM - Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission’s new cooperative game turning Baltic Sea science into play. 👀 Looking ahead – preparations for our Annual Meeting (2–4 Sept) and upcoming participation in the ICES - International Council for the Exploration of the Sea Annual Science Conference and Mission Ocean EU Presidency Conference in Denmark. #PROTECTBALTIC #OceanProtection #BalticSea #MarineConservation #MPADay

🌊 Our partners HELCOM - Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission, Bundesamt für Naturschutz - Federal Agency for Nature Conservation, Havs- och vattenmyndigheten, Metsähallitus, Valstybinė saugomų teritorijų tarnyba / State Service for the Protected Areas, and Uppsala University’s Blue Centre Gotland led outreach across Finland, Lithuania & Germany for MPA DAY 2025 in Europe - from beach clean-ups in Espoo and scout science in Nauvo to coastal explorations from Rügen to Stralsund and “Secrets of the Baltic Sea” learning in Lithuania. PROTECT BALTIC steered efforts to spread the day beyond our core partners: 🎨 a live art-science broadcast from a Tallinn–Helsinki catamaran (Imagining Godzilla) 🚲 guided tours in Sweden’s Biosfärområde Blekinge Arkipelag, 🤝 a Community 30x30 initiative launch by The Protected Areas Foundation in the UK 🔷 Mission Blue collaborations from Ireland and Spain to Italy and Iceland. 📢 Online, momentum grew with boosts from Blue Connect Project, MSP4BIO, BLUE4ALL, the MPA Community Network & Coalition Clean Baltic (CCB). 💙 Together, you made this Europe’s biggest MPA Day yet — and part of the largest global celebration so far, with 100+ events across all continents. Local action, global protection. 🌍💙 #MPADay2025 #PROTECTBALTIC #BalticSea 👉 https://lnkd.in/eUEsMZ2E

Happy Baltic Sea Day 💙 Awareness and engagement are key to protecting our sea, and initiatives like the Baltic Sea–themed games Ecosfera Baltica and Baltic Rescue being showcased by HELCOM - Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission are a fantastic way to inspire people of all ages to learn, play, and take action. At PROTECT BALTIC, we’re proud to support efforts that bring the Baltic Sea closer to people — and people closer to protecting it. 🌊 If you are in Helsinki, you can find HELCOM - Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission showcasing these games and more at the EU@Oodi stand on the 1st floor of Oodi Library from 12:00-19:00 today. #BalticSeaDay #Itämeripäivä #ProtectBaltic

Last chance to submit ocean photos for BLUE4ALL's photo competition. Submission closes in one week on 26 August 2025, with winners announced on 1 September 2025.

Registration now open! A conference in Hanasaari "Voices for the Baltic Sea: Science, Art and Action" on 2 Sept. Our Executive Secretary Rüdiger Strempel joins the panel discussion on how science & art can spark action for the Baltic Sea. Register here: https://bit.ly/4mRG0gZ Full program here: https://bit.ly/4fGuYsg Guarding the Baltic Sea is a project by EUNIC Finland and Estonian Embassy in Helsinki, French Institute of Finland, Goethe-Institut Finnland, and the Polish Embassy in Helsinki. EUNIC — European Union National Institutes for Culture — is Europe’s network of national cultural institutes and organizations, with 39 members from all EU member states and associated countries.

🌊 Our partners at SLU Aqua have an interesting 2-year post-doctoral position available on the role of herring in the coastal food webs of the Baltic Sea. Apply by 25 August.

🌊 One day. Seven continents. 30+ countries. On 1 August 2025, thousands of people came together for MPA DAY 2025 — from South Africa’s wild shores to the Baltic’s wind-ruffled waters — in a shared act of care for the ocean. This year, PROTECT BALTIC, through HELCOM - Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission, steered the global communications wave — connecting 100+ events into one worldwide story. From a revamped website to an interactive map and coordinated storytelling, our team helped make sure every local act of care became part of a global movement. 💙 Because the ocean connects us all — and so does the story we tell about it. 🌍 https://mpaday.org #MPADay #MPADay2025 #LetsTalkMPAs #ProtectBaltic #MarineProtectedAreas #OceanProtection #HumanConnection #HELCOM #GlobalAction

We came together at Nokkala in Espoo for a beach clean up ⛱️ to continue celebrations for MPA DAY We removed plastics, cigarette butts, and other debris to help protect marine life and maintain the natural beauty of the beach. A big thank you to everyone who participated - your time and care made a real difference. 💙

🌊 Summer is heating up for ocean action! Check our latest news blast for July 🌍 As MPA DAY 2025 approaches on 1 August, join the global celebration with 90+ events across the world! Don’t miss our upcoming webinar highlighting the Baltic Sea’s potential for multi-scale governance—registration is still open! https://lnkd.in/d--UmVR8 Looking ahead, big things are on the horizon: 🔹 ICES - International Council for the Exploration of the Sea Annual Science Conference at Klaipeda University, Lithuania 🔹 Mission Ocean EU Presidency Conference in Nyborg, Denmark 🔹 MarinePlan's Final Event—uniting the MPA community for collaboration and reflection 💼 There are also two exciting vacancies at HELCOM - Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission open now: 📌 Data Manager 📌 Project Manager – BRISK II Apply by 10 August and be part of shaping the future of the Baltic Sea! #PROTECTBALTIC #MPADay2025 #MPADay #ICES #MarineProtection #OceanAction #HELCOM #BalticSea #MissionOcean #MarineScience #JobAlert #EU2025 #ICESASC #MarinePlan