Editing Pirates of the Baltic Sea (section)

===Gulf of Bothnia===

The northernmost arm of the Baltic Sea, situated between Finland's west coast and Sweden's east coast. And possibly the safest region in the entire Baltic. Nearly all the traffic here is between Sweden and Finland, and since friendly relations with both is vital to Buccaneers, they do not raid here. Nor do Raiders of Thule or other pirates. Åland dominates access to Gulf of Bothnia, so any pirate who wished to enter the Gulf would need to get past the Buccaneers first.

Water in the gulf is nearly fresh. The land surrounding the Gulf of Bothnia is heavily forested, and forest products are one of the more common products transported in the gulf, along with oil and ore. There are three large ports on the Finnish coast, Rauma, Kokkola and Tornio. The Swedish coast has twice that number, Luleå, Skellefteå, Umeå, Sundsvall, Gävle and Hargshamn. Gävle is Sweden's third-largest container port. 

There is some fishery in the gulf, mainly Baltic herring for domestic needs. Fishing vessels from Åland favor the gulf for its safety, so herring from the Gulf of Bothnia often finds its way on the plates of the Buccaneers. A persistent problem is pollution, because the sea is enclosed by a large drainage basin and is poorly connected to fresher waters from the Atlantic. Runoff from the Northern Fallout Zone has not helped the situation any. Mercury and PCB levels can be relatively high, although the Ålandic Food Safety Authority considers the herring edible. Although the levels exceed the limits, the fatty acids have health benefits that offset this risk.