Background

The North Sea is a rather shallow semi-enclosed basin of continental shelf water. Its depth ranges from about 30 m on average in the southeast to 200 m in the northwest.

Although the North Sea is small, its productivity and fish catches are among the highest in the world, and fishing has long been an important activity in all countries bordering the North Sea with total annual landings of fish around 2.5 million tonnes.

Foto: Husmo-foto

The densely populated Europe puts great pressure on the North Sea. Approximately 65 million people live within the catchment areas that drain into the North Sea and a number of large towns and industries have, over a long period, emptied their waste into the North Sea. Offshore oil and gas production has been a major economic activity in the North Sea since the late 1960s, and the North Sea contains some of the busiest shipping routes in the world

The coastal zone is also used intensively for recreation, such as bathing, sailing and fishing.

As a result, the North Sea has been subject to eutrophication, oil pollution, pollution by hazardous substances and chemicals, and radioactive substances, posing threats to the various species and their habitats.