The concentration of pollutants in the water did not exceed the environmental quality standards, but some of them exceeded the norms in bottom sediments and living organisms.
"Summarizing the results of analyses of pollutants in 2019, the Baltic Sea failed to meet good chemical status due to the concentrations of mercury in living organisms, and the Curonian Lagoon, due to the concentrations of heavy metals and petroleum hydrocarbons in bottom sediments," the report said.
The concentrations of six out of 60 substances analyzed exceeded the established environmental quality standards: mercury in living organisms, and petroleum hydrocarbons, nickel, cadmium, copper and zinc in bottom sediments, the agency said.
In the Baltic Sea, the average mercury concentration in cod, flounder, herring and mussels exceeded the norms by up to 1.2–2 times and by up to three times in individual cod samples.