Baltic Sea - Ocean Biodiversity Information System

Baltic Sea

Statistics

Occurrence records	4,402,988
Species level	3,413,504
Species	2,717
Taxa	4,498
Datasets	166
Time range	1753 - 2024

Data quality

Dropped records

Dropped records	0
Not marine	83,211
No WoRMS match	237,783
No coordinates	0
Zero coordinates	0

Taxonomic issues

Marine unsure	86,986
No accepted name available	112,164

Missing and invalid fields

Field	Missing	Invalid
coordinateUncertaintyInMeters	4,659,719	4,517
eventDate	2,359	0
maximumDepthInMeters	940,273	0
minimumDepthInMeters	1,001,003	0
occurrenceStatus	14,485	0
scientificName	30	0
scientificNameID	99,954	158,906

Spatial issues

Records on land	94,506
More than 20 km from shore	97
Depth exceeds bathymetric depth	6,421

Top datasets

Dataset	Records
ICES Baltic International Trawl Survey for commercial fish species Published 2025-03-20	1,105,236
ICES Phytoplankton Community dataset Published 2025-03-20	255,893
Finnish Baltic Sea phytoplankton monitoring, KPLANK database Published 2025-03-20	222,926
SHARK - Regional monitoring and monitoring projects of Epibenthos in Sweden since 1994 Published 2024-07-02	216,776
Danish benthic marine monitoring data from ODAM Published 2025-03-20	199,590
SHARK - National Epibenthos monitoring in Sweden since 1992 Published 2024-07-02	193,513
ICES contaminants and biological effects Published 2025-03-20	187,334
ICES Zooplankton Community dataset Published 2025-03-20	167,300
SHARK - Regional monitoring, recipient control and monitoring projects of zoobenthos in Sweden since 1972 Published 2025-03-20	154,488
Finnish Baltic Sea phytoplankton monitoring, KPLANK database Published	129,945

Distribution

Disclaimer: EEZ boundaries based on Marine Regions (no endorsement).

Records

Composition

detailed (class) simple

Top taxa

Unique species IUCN Red List All taxa Unique species IUCN Red List All taxa Unique species IUCN Red List All taxa

Scientific name	Records
Gadus morhua Linnaeus, 1758 VU Phylum Chordata > Class Teleostei	472,632
Clupea harengus Linnaeus, 1758 Phylum Chordata > Class Teleostei	335,927
Platichthys flesus (Linnaeus, 1758) Phylum Chordata > Class Teleostei	209,610
Sprattus sprattus (Linnaeus, 1758) Phylum Chordata > Class Teleostei	121,699
Pleuronectes platessa Linnaeus, 1758 Phylum Chordata > Class Teleostei	72,277
Limanda limanda (Linnaeus, 1758) Phylum Chordata > Class Teleostei	60,944
Merlangius merlangus (Linnaeus, 1758) Phylum Chordata > Class Teleostei	58,082
Mytilus edulis Linnaeus, 1758 Phylum Mollusca > Class Bivalvia	55,725
Macoma balthica (Linnaeus, 1758) Phylum Mollusca > Class Bivalvia	53,245
Protozoa Owen, 1858	41,687

Newest species

Scientific name	Records	Since
Diastylis goodsiri (Bell, 1855) Phylum Arthropoda > Class Malacostraca	1	2024
Paramphilochoides odontonyx (Boeck, 1871) Phylum Arthropoda > Class Malacostraca	2	2023
Hemilamprops roseus (Norman, 1863) Phylum Arthropoda > Class Malacostraca	2	2023
Glycera tesselata Grube, 1863 Phylum Annelida > Class Polychaeta	1	2023
Sorgenfreispira brachystoma (R. A. Philippi, 1844) Phylum Mollusca > Class Gastropoda	1	2023
Tintinnopsis parvula Jörgensen, 1912 Phylum Ciliophora > Class Oligotrichea	2	2022
Melosira tenella Nygaard, 1956 Phylum Heterokontophyta > Class Bacillariophyceae	7	2022
Stenothoe monoculoides (Montagu, 1813) Phylum Arthropoda > Class Malacostraca	19	2021
Eunotia zasuminensis (Cabejszekowna) Körner, 1970 Phylum Heterokontophyta > Class Bacillariophyceae	8	2021
Nippoleucon hinumensis (Gamo, 1967) Phylum Arthropoda > Class Malacostraca	57	2021

Data providers

Name	Records
Vlaams Instituut voor de Zee	3,232,321
International Council for the Exploration of the Sea	2,175,230
Sveriges meteorologiska och hydrologiska institut	943,659
Finnish Environment Institute	614,416
Havs- och Vattenmyndigheten	487,008
Swedish Environmental Protection Agency	253,257
Swedish county administration boards	216,776
Swedish municipalities	216,776
Tallinn University of Technology	208,193
University of Aarhus; Faculty of Technical Sciences; Department of Ecoscience	200,082