Greenpeace ship marks first marine reserve area

Greenpeace ship Esperanza has completed the demarcation of the proposed Dogger Bank marine reserve in the North Sea. The demarcation, which started on 4th August, involved setting ocean buoys around the perimeter of the proposed reserve. As the demarcation was completed Greenpeace divers unfurled an underwater banner saying 'Dogger Bank - protect it for future generations'.

The demarcation is part of a campaign urging European governments to declare the 'Dogger Bank' area and sixteen other areas in the North and Baltic Seas 'Marine Reserves' - like national parks on land - which would be totally off limits to new oil production, aggregate extraction and fishing. In all Greenpeace is calling for 40% of the two seas to be placed under protection.

Greenpeace ship Esperanza is now entering the fourth week of a ten-week tour of the North Sea. During the tour the ship's crew have been documenting the state of the Dogger Bank and Viking Bank areas of the North Sea. They have found and photographed both the beauty that exists beneath the waves and the devastation caused by destructive fishing techniques and mineral extraction.

"People have over-exploited and nearly destroyed the seas on our doorstep," said Greenpeace oceans campaigner Oliver Knowles.

"Over-fishing, oil drilling and aggregate extraction have decimated many fish populations and heavily polluted the seas. Governments need to act now to protect the North Sea, we are pointing out that marine reserves are the solution.

He continued, "Marine reserves covering large areas of sea will protect the complex eco-systems of the North and Baltic Seas in the long term. Only by doing this will fishermen still be able to catch cod in the future."

The Dogger Bank marine reserve proposed by Greenpeace covers about 85,000 square kilometres. In the middle of this area lies the Dogger Bank itself - a sandbank which is an important spawning ground for several commercially fished fish species. Due to special currents the water is highly mixed. This makes the Dogger Bank one of the most biologically productive areas in Europe. The bank was once one of the richest fishing grounds and an important feeding ground for dolphins, porpoises and seabirds.

Today the Dogger Bank is massively over-fished. In the southern North Sea certain areas might be ploughed up to 3 or 4 times per year by heavy 'bottom trawl' nets, which devastate the sea floor (1).

Further information
For more information or photos contact the Greenpeace press office on 020 7865 8255, or download the Greenpeace report 'Rescuing the North and Baltic Seas: Marine Reserves - a key tool'.

Editor's note
(1) Annual science conference Reykjavik Iceland, ICES, October 1996.