<p>This paper makes an analysis of risk and risk management of Swedish cod fishery in the Baltic Sea. The purpose is to describe differences in risk perception between fishery stakeholders and the consequences these imply for political decisions. A literature study was undertaken at the startup-phase to give the study a valid background and interviews with four actors in the fishing industry was conducted. The chosen actors are: The Federation of Swedish Fishermen (SFR), Swedish Board of Fisheries, WWF and one researcher. The results indicate two causes for the cods’ positive trend, good natural conditions and a better fishing administrationin the Baltic Sea area. Risk perception is on the surface practically the same allover but a deeper analysis identifies differences. The four actors all point at different parts ofthe improved fishing-administration as most important. Improved fishing-administration during the 21th century is a fact but not good enough. As long as fishing quotas are not raised considerably during the next few years the Baltic Sea cod should be on the rise and reach biologically safe population. The most important cause for the improved fishing administration is that more actors can take part in the political decisions and that ICES’ biological recommendations are complied with to a larger extent than before.</p> / <p>Uppsatsen behandlar ämnet risk och riskhantering av det svenska torskfisket i Östersjön. Syftet är att redogöra för skillnaderna i riskuppfattning hos aktörer inom fiskenäringen sam tvilka konsekvenser skillnaderna har för de politiska besluten. En litteraturstudie har gjorts föratt ge en kunskapsbakgrund inför intervjuerna med fyra fiskeriaktörer. De utvalda aktörerna är SFR (Svenska Fiskares Riksförbund), Fiskeriverket, WWF och en representant förforskarvärlden. Resultaten i studien visar att orsakerna till torskens förbättrade status är två, en god naturlig förökning samt en bättre förvaltning av fiskeresurserna. Riskuppfattningen skiljer sig inte mycket på ytan mellan aktörerna. En djupare analys identifierar dock skillnadersom inte är lika tydliga vid en första anblick. Aktörerna betonar olika delar av den förbättringsom skett i fiskeförvaltningen, troligtvis beroende på vilken bakgrund de har. Fiskeförvaltningen har blivit bättre under 2000-talet men bestånden är ännu inte betryggande goda. Så länge inga drastiska höjningar av fiskekvoterna sker de närmare åren och beståndenfortsätter öka är risken liten för ännu en kollaps för Östersjötorsken. Den viktigaste orsaken till den förbättrade förvaltningen är att fler aktörer är inblandade i beslutsprocessen och att ICES rekommendationer efterföljs i högre grad i de politiska besluten.</p>

Following the end of World War II, the Allied forces faced an immediate large- scale refugee crisis in Europe. Efforts focused on returning the millions of refugees to their homes as quickly as possible. Though the majority did return home, nearly a million refugees from Soviet-controlled Eastern Europe refused to do so. Reclassified as Displaced Persons (DPs) and placed in holding camps by the Occupational Authorities, these refugees demanded that Allied leaders give them the chance to immigrate and resettle elsewhere. Immigration historians of this period have focused mainly on the experiences of the Jewish refugees during the Holocaust and the establishment of Israel. Other studies depict the chaos in Germany immediately following the war, describing the DPs as an unstable factor in an already unstable situation. While important, these works tend to overlook the fate of non-Jewish refugees who would not return to their homes. Additionally, these works overlook the many immigration and resettlement schemes put in place to solve the DP situation and stabilize Europe, focusing instead on economic forces and growing Cold War tensions. This thesis looks at the experiences of the Baltic DPs, those from Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. Beginning with a brief history of the three countries and their people’s experiences during the war, this study also looks at their lives in the DP camps and explores their reasons for not returning home. It also recounts the Allies’ decision to promote resettlement rather than repatriation as the solution to the refugee problem by focusing on the immigration programs of the four main recipient countries, Britain, the United States, Canada, and Australia. This thesis argues that the majority of the Baltic DPs came from educated, middle class backgrounds and as such, they were widely sought after by the recipient countries as the most suitable for immigration. A final argument is that disagreements over their fate between the United States, England, and the Soviet Union, fueled the Cold War.

When the Baltic States declared their independence in 1991, they did not become equal members of the international community in one day. Although the fall of the Berlin wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union declared the end to the Cold War, ideas, beliefs, prejudices and discourses were much harder to trigger. The study addresses the issues of newly independent states, establishing themselves in the international community, analysing the processes of learning in the interaction with the other international actors. By combining Role theory and Constructivism the author develops a framework to understand the development and change of Baltic States role conceptions. How have Baltic states perceived their role in the Baltic Sea region during the period 1993-2002? How has the western discourse treated them? What role did the application for the EU membership play in the process? What have been the individual and group features of the Baltic States? The study attempts to answer these and other questions through thediscourse analysis of public speeches.

Fisheries agencies around the Baltic Sea use hydroacoustics to assess stock sizes of herring and sprat. These assessments rely on the assumption that the acoustic properties of Baltic clupeids are the same as North Sea herring. This may lead to biased results, as system-specific differences in salinity and fish fat content may influence acoustic target strength. The acoustic properties of the Baltic clupeids were explored and a new relationship between target strength and fish length was developed (paper I). The intercept of this new relationship is 3.4 dB higher than normally used by the agencies. Applying this new relationship would reduce the acoustic stock biomass estimates by approximately 50%. Diel variation in the vertical distribution of fish may influence acoustic abundance estimates. Fish body posture may influence target strength and if fish concentrate near the surface or bottom this may affect detectability by an echo sounder. A seabed-mounted, upward pinging echo sounder was used to study diel variation in vertical distribution, acoustic size distribution and abundance of fish (Paper II). Differences between day and night were substantial and it was concluded that night time acoustics are to be preferred, at least in our study area. The seabed-mounted echo sounder was also used to study fish swimming activity and vertical distribution in relation to light intensity and water temperature (paper III). Four phases of fish distribution were distinguished over the diel cycle (day, night, dawn and dusk). Acoustic tracking was used to estimate the swimming speed of individual fish. The speed varied among the diel periods and the greatest difference was observed between day and night with twice as high swimming speed during the day. Regression models were developed to investigate the effects of fish size and environmental factors (water temperature, light intensity at the sea surface and in situ, measured at the depth of the fish) on swimming speed. Fish size, light intensities and temperature were all significant variables in the models, with fish size being generally most important. These results have clear implications for fish bioenergetics models. Such models should account for seasonal, light-driven cycles in the activity-induced respiration estimates, in particular when modelling populations at high latitudes. Vertical and horizontal fish distributions were studied from spring through autumn during two consecutive years (paper IV). The seasonal dynamics in vertical distribution patterns were consistent between years. Prior to thermocline formation, fish of all sizes concentrated near surface where water temperatures were higher than in the underlying water mass. During the summer period of pronounced thermal stratification, larger fish were found deeper than small individuals (including young-of-the-year fish), which remained close to the surface. In the autumn, when the thermal stratification diminished, the small fish moved somewhat deeper while larger individuals dispersed throughout the water column. Fish showed clear horizontal patchiness, but horizontal distributions were not significantly related to wind directions.

There is a problematic interaction going on between grey seals and the small scale coastal fisheries in the Baltic. A large number of seals are by-caught and drowned each year, and the viability of the fishery is threatened by catch losses caused by the seals. Traditional mitigation methods are not sufficient, or have in some cases not been properly evaluated. Available methods of quantifying and analysing the catch losses are also insufficient. This thesis consists of three parts, each studying a different angle of this conflict. In the first part, new models for estimating catch losses are presented. In addition to the commonly used method of counting the number of damaged fish in the nets, the new models also allow for an estimation of the hidden losses. Hidden losses may be fish that are completely removed from nets without leaving any traces, fish that escape through holes in the net torn by the seals, or even fish that are scared away from the fishing gear. Such losses were found to be significant, and hence it is now clear that the traditional models seriously underestimate the total losses. The new models also allow for a deeper analysis of the interaction process. The first presented model compares catches between adjacent days (day-pairs), the second uses nets that are pre-baited before deployment, and the third relies on a detailed inspection and repair of all seal-induced damage to the net meshes. In the second part, some traditional methods of mitigating the conflict are evaluated. A commercially available Acoustic Harassment Device was tested in a field trial. AHDs were deployed at several set-traps for salmonids for three consecutive years. The damage reducing effect was persistent throughout a season, as well as over the full three-year test period, and no “dinner bell” effect was observed. When seal attacks became frequent in the 1980´s, several of the traditional salmon traps were reinforced with newly developed extra strong net materials. These materials dramatically reduced the damage to the nets, and to some degree also the catch losses. However, the losses were still substantial, and the traditional gear was gradually phased out when better solutions emerged. In the third part, new methods of mitigating the conflict are evaluated. A salmon trap was built, using net meshes which were large enough to allow seal-chased fish to escape through, but which would still guide and confine non-stressed fish. The trap was fitted with a fish chamber with a double wall of very taut netting, separating the catch from the surroundings by a fixed distance. Interference by seals was significantly reduced with this construction. Field experiments revealed that seals used their above-water vision to locate and search out buoys of the type that are used in the fisheries. Larger buoys were more readily found than smaller. A set of trials was initiated where certain geographical areas were made unattractive for seals prior to their seasonal arrival to the region, by deploying stationary AHDs. Finally, aquarium experiments demonstrated that underwater vision and hearing were equally important in seals’ detection of fish in a test box. It was also found that there was a “near zone”, within which seals stayed focused on a fish and attempted to catch it by a quick thrust of the head. These studies strongly suggest that new seal-safe fishing gear and mitigation methods should be based on, and would benefit from, an in-depth understanding and analysis of natural seal behaviour.

This paper makes an analysis of risk and risk management of Swedish cod fishery in the Baltic Sea. The purpose is to describe differences in risk perception between fishery stakeholders and the consequences these imply for political decisions. A literature study was undertaken at the startup-phase to give the study a valid background and interviews with four actors in the fishing industry was conducted. The chosen actors are: The Federation of Swedish Fishermen (SFR), Swedish Board of Fisheries, WWF and one researcher. The results indicate two causes for the cods’ positive trend, good natural conditions and a better fishing administrationin the Baltic Sea area. Risk perception is on the surface practically the same allover but a deeper analysis identifies differences. The four actors all point at different parts ofthe improved fishing-administration as most important. Improved fishing-administration during the 21th century is a fact but not good enough. As long as fishing quotas are not raised considerably during the next few years the Baltic Sea cod should be on the rise and reach biologically safe population. The most important cause for the improved fishing administration is that more actors can take part in the political decisions and that ICES’ biological recommendations are complied with to a larger extent than before. / Uppsatsen behandlar ämnet risk och riskhantering av det svenska torskfisket i Östersjön. Syftet är att redogöra för skillnaderna i riskuppfattning hos aktörer inom fiskenäringen sam tvilka konsekvenser skillnaderna har för de politiska besluten. En litteraturstudie har gjorts föratt ge en kunskapsbakgrund inför intervjuerna med fyra fiskeriaktörer. De utvalda aktörerna är SFR (Svenska Fiskares Riksförbund), Fiskeriverket, WWF och en representant förforskarvärlden. Resultaten i studien visar att orsakerna till torskens förbättrade status är två, en god naturlig förökning samt en bättre förvaltning av fiskeresurserna. Riskuppfattningen skiljer sig inte mycket på ytan mellan aktörerna. En djupare analys identifierar dock skillnadersom inte är lika tydliga vid en första anblick. Aktörerna betonar olika delar av den förbättringsom skett i fiskeförvaltningen, troligtvis beroende på vilken bakgrund de har. Fiskeförvaltningen har blivit bättre under 2000-talet men bestånden är ännu inte betryggande goda. Så länge inga drastiska höjningar av fiskekvoterna sker de närmare åren och beståndenfortsätter öka är risken liten för ännu en kollaps för Östersjötorsken. Den viktigaste orsaken till den förbättrade förvaltningen är att fler aktörer är inblandade i beslutsprocessen och att ICES rekommendationer efterföljs i högre grad i de politiska besluten.

This study was conducted with the purpose of furthering the knowledge of collisionsinvolving Swedish icebreakers in the Baltic Sea. It strived to identify the causes and directeffects of this type of collision. It also sought to establish if regulations and operationalguidelines, governing Swedish icebreakers and icebreaker assistance, were sufficient and ifthey were being adhered to.The method used to accomplish this was a qualitative literature study of all data regardingSwedish icebreaker collisions from the archives of the Swedish Maritime Administration andthe Swedish Transport Agency. Several accident investigation authorities from around theworld assisted in developing a method for processing the raw data.Having processed and examined the data the prevalence of different causes contributing to thecollisions could be established. All collisions occurred during icebreaker assistance. It wasfound that the all encompassing cause of the collisions was the difficulties of evaluating theice conditions and the behavior that difficult ice conditions necessitated the vessels to adopt.It was further made clear that the direct effects for the vessels, their crew and the environmentwere of limited severity. It was also concluded that the regulations and operational guidelinesgoverning Swedish icebreaker assistance, were generally being adhered to, and weresatisfactory in enabling a sufficiently safe and effective icebreaker assistance service. / Denna studie genomfördes i syfte att utöka den akademiska kunskapen om kollisioner sominvolverar svenska isbrytare i Östersjön. Den ämnade identifiera orsakerna och de omedelbaraeffekterna av dessa kollisioner. Vidare sökte den fastslå huruvida regelverk och riktlinjer förden svenska isbrytartjänsten var tillräckliga och om de efterlevdes.Studien genomfördes som en kvalitativ litteraturstudie av all data, med anknytning tillisbrytarkollisioner, som fanns tillgänglig i Sjöfartsverkets och Transportstyrelsens arkiv. Ettflertal utländska myndigheter som utreder olyckor assisterade vid framtagandet av modellenför bearbetning av datan.Efter att ha bearbetat och undersökt datan kunde förekomsten av olika bidragande orsaker tillisbrytarkollisionerna slås fast. Alla kollisioner inträffade under isbrytarassistans. Det stodklart att den övergripande orsaken var svårigheten i att utvärdera isförhållandena och deåtgärder fartygen tvingas vidta för att kunna ta sig fram genom isen. Vidare fastslogs att deomedelbara effekterna, för såväl fartyg som besättning och miljö, inte var förödande utan avbegränsad karaktär. Det fastslogs även att de regelverk och riktlinjer som styr den svenskaisbrytarverksamheten överlag efterlevdes och var tillräckliga för att säkerställa entillfredställande säker och effektiv isbrytartjänst.

No description available.

The geographical distribution of the Gulf of Bothnia zooplankton species is presented together with observations of abundancies and vertical distributions. The historical development of this plankton community in the last 70 years is discussed.Spring and summer development of the plankton fauna was studiedin the Bothnian Bay. Compared to in southern parts of the Balticit could be shown that the start of development in spring formany species was only moderately later in the Bothnian Bay. Theperiod of maximal biomass was in late summer and autumn.In a study of horizontal distribution large between-station variations were found. These variations were not random as close stations formed homogenous groups. Several cases of patchiness were established. Systematically appearing differences in age-distributions were proposed as a factor in the formation of patchiness.The selective prédation on zooplankton by Baltic herring was studied in the Bothnian Bay. Besides chosing certain species herring selects the older and larger stages of these species. Egg-bearing Eurytemora females were more heavily preyed upon than the males.From literature information and own observations it was proposed that in sence of production the Bothnian Bay and the Bothnian Sea are two very different systems. Climatic effects cause a delay of primary production in spring enabling the pelagic consumers to develop in phase with the producers in the Bothnian Bay. Contrary to systems with a spring peak in phytoplankton growth this situation will lead to high pelagial efficiency leaving little to feed the benthic communities. / digitalisering@umu

This thesis aims to investigate the trade intensity between the Baltic States and the Nordic countries over a period of 14 years. The bilateral exports of 42 European countries are explored with the focus on the Baltic-Nordic trade. Since many previous studies provided support for the strong relationship between the Baltic States and the Nordic countries, this thesis aims to explore this relationship over time. The Baltic States after their independence, shifted their trade to the Western economies, including Nordic countries. The results reveal that the magnitude of the trade intensity between these two regions have become more important and is higher than expected. Furthermore, it is accounted for commodities of different values traded between the Baltic States and the Nordic countries by introducing dummy variables. It has been shown that the value of commodities is not very important in the Baltic-Nordic trade and therefore there is no trend over time.