Marine Reserves for the North and Baltic Seas

The North and Baltic Seas are in crisis.Pollution from land-based sources, excessive nutrients from agricultural runoff,airborn inputs originating from a variety of sources such as traffic, fish-farming, oil and gas exploration, sand and gravel extraction,and fishing have all left their imprint on these important marine ecosystems. Many important habitats for fish and other marine life have been destroyed and large areas of the Baltic Sea bed have become anoxic. In addition, shipping traffic is increasing rapidly. Several hundred thousand ships cross the North Sea each year. In the Baltic,it is several tens of thousands annually and especially the transportation of oil is set to increase dramatically over the next decade. These Seas are in our backyard. If we continue to treat them this way then we will lose the unique variety of animals and plants that call these seas home. The way out of the crisis is twofold: – Implementation of marine reserves:these are areas akin to marine parks on land,where no extractive or disposal activities are allowed. – Ecologically sustainable and socially responsible use of the seas outside of the marine reserves and the reduction of land based pollution