North-East Atlantic

The North-East Atlantic Ocean provides a large diversity of coastal and offshore marine habitats, from the tidal mud flats of the Wadden Sea to the fjord ecosystems, rocky shores and sandy beaches along the open Atlantic coast, from the shallow North Sea to the Irish and Celtic shelf break and finally, down to the abyssal plains, sea mounts and trenches of the deep sea. The North-East Atlantic is extremely rich in marine wildlife such as sharks, seals, cetaceans, seabirds and it hosts economically important fish stocks. Many more treasures of nature are to be found in this part of the sea, such as the highly productive plankton and bottom-dwelling communities, kelp forests, sea grass beds and cold water coral reefs.

This marine environment is polluted by toxic chemicals and nutrients from land-based point and diffuse sources including pesticides and fertilizer from agriculture which enter the sea via rivers and atmosphere. Discharges and emissions of oil and chemicals from offshore platforms and merchant shipping pose additional threats to marine wildlife. Fish stocks and marine ecosystems have got under pressure from overfishing, by-catch, discarding and detrimental fishing gear. Coastal and marine habitats are increasingly degraded by harbour construction, industrial development, flood defense and the extraction of oil, gas, sand and gravel from the sea bed.

WWF's North East Atlantic Programme works to prevent marine pollution from hazardous substances such as endocrine disrupting chemicals, to minimize oil pollution from shipping and to reduce nutrient input and eutrophication. It supports sustainable and environmentally sound fisheries including no-take-zones and it promotes integrated coastal zone management. It aims at effective protection of marine species and habitats eg. the establishment of a representative network of marine protected areas.

The Coordination office in Bremen serves as contact point for WWF's work in relation to the OSPAR Commission - Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic and the International Conference on the Protection of the North Sea (North Sea Conference, NSC)

Contact
Stephan Lutter, WWF North-East Atlantic Programme, Am Guthpol 11, D-28757, Bremen, Germany
Tel +49 421 65846-22
Fax +49 421 65846-12
e-mail: lutter@wwf.de

Links
NSC: http://odin.dep.no/nsc/
OSPAR: http://www.ospar.org



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