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The Baltic is a young sea, and is one of the world's most extraordinary
for the beauty and variety of the marine environment and its surrounding
landscapes.
Since the last Ice Age these waters have at different times been
a wide strait, a large bay, a lake and now an inland sea connected to the
open ocean only by narrow straits. Water exchange with the open ocean is slow,
and salinity varies considerably both between different waters and over time.
The Baltic is nevertheless home to many species of plants, animals
and microorganisms in a great variety of different habitats. Most of these
are at risk from human activity, and many Baltic fish populations are now
thought to be dangerously low.
Among the main threats are:
- eutrophication caused primarily by excess nitrogen and phosphorus in the
water
- pollution by hazardous substances including pesticides, heavy metals and
industrial wastes
- habitat destruction
- the use of harmful fishing equipment and
- the introduction of alien invasive species.
Furthermore, being crisscrossed by some of the busiest shipping routs in the
world, the Baltic remains under permanent threat from maritime pollution incidents.
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