A coalition of 18 ‘green’ Danish NGOs, including Oceana, has published a report on Denmark’s marine environment and is calling for better management and protection.
The report, which was co-authored by Oceana, details the general decline in species diversity in Denmark’s marine environment. The NGOs are calling for protection of three major areas in the, Central Kattegat, the Sound and Little Belt, which are being damaged by anthropogenic activities including unsustainable fisheries, nutrient loads, hazardous substance discharges, raw materials extraction and physical disturbances, among others.
Christina Abel, marine scientist, Oceana, told World Fishing & Aquaculture: “The concrete proposals are, among others, to have areas inside the big three sites where harmful activities, such as bottom trawling, and hunting, are not allowed. The rest of the area is then open for lenient activities, such as diving, transport and kayaking.”
“Fish stocks are already affected by the negative trend, and the negative development can get even worse, unless something is actively done to change the development.”
She added: “Oceana urges Baltic Sea countries to implement the decisions taken to establish a well-managed, ecologically coherent network of marine protected areas, which will buffer against human disturbances and increases the overall resilience of the ecosystems, enabling better and faster recovery after potentially destructive events.”
