Wide-ranging research has uncovered a vast marine treasure trove far offshore in the waters of the German North Sea – not hoards of jewels in sunken ships or archaeological relics of long-lost cultures, but fascinating gems of European marine life. The world of reefs and sandbanks offers a rich home to exceptionally rare and vulnerable species. Numerous sea floor species are found here, from soft corals and sea anenomies to hornwrack and sea squirts, not to mention the countless species of fish, including some endangered migrants. Harbour porpoises and seals travel far to use these ecologically highly valuable areas as feeding and breeding grounds. Red-throated and black-throated divers rest here in internationally significant concentrations, as do other rare and endangered sea bird species.
In recognition of this importance, Germany nominated its first four offshore marine protected areas to the European Commission in 2004: the Eastern German Bight under the Birds Directive and Dogger Bank, Sylt Outer Reef and Borkum Reef Ground under the Habitats Directive. The Eastern German Bight became a nature conservation area under German law and a Special Protected Area (SPA) under European law in 2005. The EU recognised the Habitats Directive sites as Sites of Community Importance (SCIs) in November 2007, the designation taking legal effect on publication in January 2008.
As part of the Natura 2000 network, the marine protected areas safeguard population interchange and migration, for example with protected areas closer to land. These include the valuable habitats around the offshore island of Heligoland with their unique rocky flats and kelp forests, and the Wadden Sea national parks – likewise nominated as Natura 2000 sites – with their characteristic mudflat, beach, tidal creek and salt marsh flora and fauna. The harbour porpoise conservation area set up off the isle of Sylt in 1999 as part of the Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea National Park secures an important calving and mating habitat of this endangered marine mammal species. This has now been extended seawards of the 12-mile zone with the designation of the large Sylt Outer Reef Natura 2000 site.
Sea anemones (Metridium senile)
Sea squirts (Ascidiacea)
Common seal (Phoca vitulina vitulina) in the Wadden Sea.