CCB team took part in HELCOM Stakeholder Conference on Marine Litter

CCB • March 11, 2016
Hazardous wa

HELCOM invited a wide array of stakeholders to announce – or reiterate – their commitment for combating marine litter in the Baltic Sea under recently adopted Regional Action Plan on Marine Litter at a Stakeholder Conference, held on 9 March 2016 back-to-back with HELCOM 37-2016.
Key focus of the Conference was to strengthen and broaden the ownership in pushing into action the 30 agreed regional tasks of the Plan.

Key messages (outcome),  conference report  and  presentations  a re made available at HELCOM Meeting Portal.
  1. Marijana Toben, Friends of the Earth  / BUND für Umwelt und Naturschutz
  2. Justyna Rudnicka Polish Ecological Club / PKE, Eastern Pomerania
  3. Elita Kalniņa Environmental Protection Club of Latvia, VAK
  4. Darja Mytareva Friends of the Baltic, St. Petersburg, Russia
  5. Edmundas Greimas Lithuanian Fund for Nature, LGF
  6. Dmitry Filippenko Green Planet, Kaliningrad, Russia
  7. Tatsiana Kuzniatsova Center for Environmental Solutions, Minsk, Belarus
  8. Ellen Bruno Swedish Society for Nature Conservation, SSNC
  9. Tina Sommarstorm Finnish Society for Nature & Environment / Natur och Miljö
  10. Tapani Veistola Finnish Association for Nature Conservation, and
  11. Mikhail Durkin CCB Secretariat, Sweden

The team presented  work done by CCB on marine litter topic within recent years , including activities of each organisation, and an overview of mobile applications (apps) helping to fight marine litter problem. In addition, CCB Executive Secretary Mikhail Durkin together with the Director of Waste Dept. from the Ministry of Environment of Estonia Peeter Eek provided presentation on land-based actions to prevent and reduce inputs of marine litte r.

The Conference was also preceded by a CCB Workshop on marine litter that has concluded on the results of 2015 “Plastic Free Baltic” campaign and discussed the plans for 2016-2017. The workshop also formally launched CCB brochures on microplastic pollution, being produced in all Baltic Sea Region languages (except Danish and Ukrainian), see links for download in the dedicated campaign webpage.

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EU fisheries at a crossroads: NGOs warn against reform as Baltic collapse exposes failure to enforce existing rules

By CCB • April 30, 2026
Failure to implement EU fisheries law, not gaps in the policy itself, has pushed the Baltic Sea to the brink. Coalition Clean Baltic (CCB) urges immediate action to rebuild Baltic fish populations and restore ecosystems.

Tampering with EU Fisheries Policy would ‘open Pandora’s Box’, NGOs warn

By CCB • March 30, 2026
Brussels, 30 March 2026 - Today, Fisheries Ministers from EU Member States meet with the European Commission for the AGRIFISH Council. On this occasion, Oceana, BLOOM, ClientEarth, Coalition Clean Baltic (CCB), Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF), Seas At Risk and WWF EU, handed a symbolic ''Pandora’s Box'' to the EU Commissioner Costas Kadis, sending a clear message as the European Commission prepares its 2026 evaluation of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). The box represents the risks of revising EU’s main fishery policy framework: once opened, competing demands from Member States, industry, small-scale fishers, and coastal communities could quickly spiral into division, regulatory delays and uncertainties. This would put at risk the hard-won progress made in restoring Europe’s fish populations and improving the profitability of the fishing sector. NGOs urge decision makers to build on the progress made to date and to prioritise the full and timely implementation of the existing rules. Reopening the CFP and its related provisions would undermine ocean health and the long-term future of Europe’s fishing communities. '' Europe's fisheries policy is facing a credibility test. The law is already there. The tools to rebuild our seas already exist. What's missing is the political will to deliver. Overfishing should have ended by 2020 at the latest. Reopening the CFP would signal that missed deadlines carry no consequences, erode trust, revert the progress made, and put the future of our fisheries and coastal communities at stake ’’, said the NGO coalition. *** Oceana: Vera Coelho, Executive Director and Vice President in Europe BLOOM: Claire Nouvian, Founder and General Director ClientEarth: John Condon, Lead of Marine Ecosystems Coalition Clean Baltic (CCB): Ida Carlén, Co-Chair Environmental Justice Foundation: Steve Trent, CEO/Founder Seas At Risk: Dr Monica Verbeek, Executive Director WWF EU: Ester Asin, Director