DAM Pilot Missions

Two DAM pilot missions have been under way since March 2020, as part of the research mission “Protection and Sustainable Use of Marine Areas”, providing a unique opportunity to study the effects of excluding bottom trawling from marine protected areas in the North Sea and Baltic Sea. This so-called mobile bottom-contact fishing is designed to catch demersal (bottom-dwelling) fish such as plaice, sole, cod and shrimp.

Bottom trawling can have a significant impact on the seabed and the marine communities that inhabit it and can therefore clash with conservation objectives. For this reason, bottom trawling is to be banned in the coming years, at least in parts of Germany’s and Europe’s marine protected areas. The two DAM pilot missions offer a unique opportunity to observe how protected areas develop when bottom trawling is discontinued. Their findings form an important basis for an effective management of the protected areas.

In its research mission “Protection and Sustainable Use of Marine Areas”, the DAM brings together German expertise in marine research, integrating protagonists from specialist authorities, industry and nature conservation in order to come up with scientifically based courses of action for policy-makers. Protecting the North Sea and Baltic Sea and using them sustainably is a cross-cutting issue that affects fishery, domestic, environmental, transport, economic and scientific policies in equal measure, both on a national (federal and state) and a European level.

Maritime spatial planning is meant to reconcile the interests of the various different users and of marine and climate protection such as to enable future-oriented and sustainable developments. Some areas in the North Sea and Baltic Sea have been designated Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). In these areas, human interventions and exploitation are to be excluded or regulated in such a way that existing habitats with their biodiversity are preserved and the resilience of the oceans in the face of influences such as climate change is strengthened. In Germany, maritime spatial planning is governed by so-called spatial development plans, which apply to the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), i.e. the area of sea extending from the territorial waters (12 nautical miles) up to a maximum of 200 nautical miles. These are the responsibility of the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community (BMI) and the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH).

Marine protected areas are subject to management plans which set out conservation measures and their implementation. Generally speaking, individual uses are permissible as long as they do not prevent the conservation objectives for the specific site from being achieved. In Germany, the federal government – represented by the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) and the Federal Ministry of the Environment (BMU) – is responsible for implementing these plans in the Natura 2000 areas within the EEZ. Measures for marine nature conservation are necessary in order to counter the destruction of habitats and the loss of biodiversity, as well as achieving a good environmental status for the North Sea and Baltic Sea, in accordance with the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive.

The Thünen Institute and the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) are jointly working on proposals for fisheries-related measures in the areas of the EEZ covered by the Habitats Directive, with a view to striking a sensible balance between the need to protect the marine environment and the legitimate interests of sustainable marine fishery.

The 2018 status report for the German North Sea areas states: “Marine biodiversity and marine ecosystems have continued to be subject to high pressures in 2011–2016. The areas of the North Sea that are managed by Germany have not yet achieved a good status.” The same wording is also found in the status report for Germany’s Baltic Sea areas. The causes of this poor status of the marine environment are complex; the reasons mentioned include:

• pressure on benthic habitats, especially over large areas, due to bottom trawling
• excessive influx of nutrients (“overfertilisation”) and pollutants
• extensive exposure to marine waste and underwater noise
• pressure on biodiversity and ecosystem functions due to invasive species and commercial fishing
• in addition to the effects of climate change, which can amplify the negative impact.

Habitats such as sandbanks, reefs, mussel beds or ross worm reefs can be damaged to varying degrees depending on the fishing areas and methods. Long-lived species and species that are sensitive to disruption, such as large mussels or sea urchins, are declining in favour of robust, opportunistic species such as worms or starfish. Another problem is by-catch: in addition to the edible fish that are sought, juvenile fish that are too small to be marketed also end up in the nets, as do mussels, snails, crabs, starfish and sea urchins. Many of these creatures are thrown back into the sea and do not survive. For this reason, bottom trawling is to be banned in the coming years, at least in parts of Germany’s and Europe’s marine protected areas. Until now, it has been permitted everywhere, notwithstanding the protection status.

In addition, the data from the first observations will form the basis for future monitoring, allowing changes to be detected in plenty of time, so that countermeasures or additional protective measures can be taken if necessary. The proposed measures are meant to help to achieve a “good environmental status” in the North Sea and Baltic Sea, in accordance with the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive, and to provide a basis for establishing potential sustainable uses. The initiative is being conducted in close cooperation with the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) and is integrated into the DAM research mission “Protection and Sustainable Use of Marine Areas”.