Stockholm’s coastal waters are becoming clearer

Published 9 May 2023
- By Editorial Staff
The Stockholm archipelago.

Stockholm’s coastal waters are becoming increasingly clear, according to the report “Svealandskusten 2023”. Last summer, a new record was set with seven meters of visibility.

A new report from the Svealand Coastal Water Management Association has measured the quality of coastal water in Sweden. It shows that the water around Stockholm’s middle archipelago is becoming increasingly clear and that a new visibility record of seven meters was measured last summer. At the beginning of the 20th century, visibility was only around two meters.

It is believed that sewage treatment has made the water clearer, but at the same time it is only in the Stockholm archipelago that the water has improved. On the contrary, in many other parts of the coast, the water has become murkier and visibility has also deteriorated considerably in the open sea. At the beginning of the 20th century, visibility was about ten meters, but today it is about six meters.

The report also shows that fixed buoys in natural harbors lead to reduced damage to the bottom vegetation, and at the same time eelgrass spreads on the bottoms, which is considered positive in the work to protect the bottoms.

They also note that there has been a marked decline in herring, and instead the big spike has taken over, which worries coastal fishermen who believe that this may be a sign that the coastal ecosystem is under threat.