Ostmann et al. (2026) established a baseline assessment of meiofaunal communities in the Oderbank area of the Baltic Sea before the planned exclusion of mobile bottom-trawl fisheries from a marine protected area. Comparing sites inside and outside the future closure area, the study found no significant differences in overall meiofaunal community composition, abundance, or diversity, although some differences were detected in harpacticoid copepod species composition. The results provide an important reference point for future monitoring and evaluating the ecological effects of fisheries management measures.
