The Water Protection Association of the Hanö Bight County of Blekinge

This organisation is a voluntary association of industries and municipalities using the Hanö Bight as a recipient for industrial and urban wastes. It was initiated in 1990 and consists of 30 members.

The Hanö Bight is located just east of the southern part of Sweden and is bordered by the Danish island of Bornholm. The area is about 6000 km².

The aims of the association are:

Environmental monitoring

Publishing the results of the investigations in such a way that they can be used as a base for planning activities for a sustainable development of the marine environment in the area

Giving advice for coastal planning in the area

Informing members and the public of the conditions and changes in the coastal waters

The association has established a joint investigation programme for the whole Hanö Bight in cooperation with the Water Protection Association of Western Hanö Bight.

The programme includes standard physical/chemical oceanographical measurements, qualitative and quantitative studies of macro algal communities and bottom fauna, contents of trace metals and chlorinated hydrocarbons in biota.

A special study deals with the effects of effluents from two paper and pulp mills on the fish species ”tånglake”(Zoarces viviparus).

The results can be found under the button ”mätresultat” where the physical and chemical measurements are continuosly updated. Just select a station from the map and select a year and if you want the presentation as a graph or a table.

The results of the biological measurements are published in an annual report. This can also be found under the button “Rapporter”. A paper report can be obtained from the secretary whose e-mail address can be found at the front page.

The monitoring work is done by the SMHI (Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute) and the Department of Marine Ecology at the University of Kalmar.

The total annual cost for the environmental monitoring programme is around 150 000 Euro.