for the OSPAR the System for a Showcase Example Showcase a of Marine Protected Marine of briefing Kosterfjorden/ tr vlr- Hvaler Yttre n te ra otis ay ifrn mrn biotopes marine different many contains area the and varied highly is topography bottom The deep. m ~200 m <50 being area the of of part major the with depths coast, the towards to trench the of part deepest the in Atlantic Ocean. the The depth of the area varies from 260 m with Skagerrak the connecting trench Norwegian The area is situated at the north-eastern edge of the deep Description Site seabirds. of numbers important internationally also area hosts The seals. and sharks fishes, invertebrates, by dominated pertusa reefs coral sea and rich deep contains unique It Norway. of part this or Sweden in elsewhere found be not can that species and habitats unique many contains and species marine of diversity high very a has area The Skagerrak. in areas marine for representative is area Hvaler Kosterfjorden/Yttre The Selection for Reasons Potential E. 11°01,60 and N 58°58,70 Kosterfjorden/Yttre approximately is of Hvaler position central The waters. territorial Norwegian in situated is Hvaler) (Yttre part are situated in Swedish territorial waters and the western Singlefjorden) and (Koster-/Väderöfjorden Skagerrak northern the in area proposed the of parts eastern The Location Areas E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: 65846-12 421 +49 Fax: · 65846-22 Tel:421 +49 Germany · Bremen D-28757 · 11 Gütpohl Am North-East Programme WWF Atlantic Lutter Stephan contact: information, For Koster/Yttre Hvaler - A Potential MPA Potential - A Hvaler Koster/Yttre uh s ot n hr sbtae a various at substrates hard and soft as such and is an important area for a great variety of variety great a for area important an is and ets kl bd ad hl gravel. shell and beds kelp depths, The hydrographic conditions in conditions hydrographic The the Baltic Sea and local rivers. h Saerk are Skagerrak the nlecd y uof from runoff by influenced hrceie b stratified by characterised aiiis 1 - 33‰), - (15 salinities water masses with highly y aes f lower of layers by aie 3‰ bottom (35‰) saline Atlantic Ocean covered Ocean Atlantic ae oiiaig from originating water h Nrh e ad the and Sea North the Lophelia ee ouetd o te is tm. There time. nearby. reefs first unexplored yet more, the two least at for are documented were of varieties yellow and depth m 74 inshore in waters found so far. Living corals were found between 160 and reef largest the possibly Sweden, to border the to Norway,close in Hvaler Yttre in Tisler of north found was wide m 200 and long km 1.2 least at reef coral unknown previously a 2002, in Only fjorden. Koster-/Väderö- Swedish the in exist to known been living of patches Small environments. Scandinavia’sspecies-rich of most water coral reefs dominated by Deep date. to recorded species ~7000 with high, very reefs, coral water deep dominated by and rocks and sediments shallow exposed very bottoms, hard and soft (>200m) Vestlandet),of east and deep (south e.g. Norway of part this or Sweden in elsewhere found be cannot that traits unique many contains also it But species. Skagerrak and habitats for representative be to considered be can Hvaler Kosterfjorden/Yttre of ensemble proposed The Features Biological rnbudr MA Te eald a isre gvs an gives Lundälv,Laboratory) Tjärnö inserted map of Tomas(courtesy area the of size and type the of impression detailed The MPA. Hvaler Kosterfjorden/Yttre transboundary proposed the of Location 1: Fig. Lophelia pertusa ohla pertusa Lophelia . The species diversity is Lophelia pertusa oois ae long have colonies ohla pertusa Lophelia W Sweden WWF Laboratory/ Lundälv,Tjärnö Tomas © Hvaler pertusa of Yellowvariety 2: Fig. Lophelia at Yttre are one Many invertebrate species have been recorded in the area, Existing/Proposed Protection e.g. sea-pens, sponges and brachiopods. Lightly trawled Koster-Väderöfjorden (~426 km2), in the Swedish part of fjords like Singlefjorden still contain many species that are the area, has already been declared a Natura 2000 area sensitive to trawling. The area is known as an important according to the EU Habitats Directive. The County area for reproduction and growth of a lot of commercial fish Administration in Västra Götaland is working on a species, molluscs and crustaceans, but also sharks and rays management plan for the area. Since 1999, a working group, which, however, have decreased dramatically in recent consisting of representatives from public authorities, fishing times. Moreover, the area contains many important feeding organisations and individual fishermen, has been grounds for the common seal (Phoca vitulina) and, to a successfully working to reduce the effects of shrimp smaller extent, the grey seal (Halichoerus grypus). The trawling on the sensitive marine organisms in the area. Skagerrak area (48.500km2) is also identified as an Certain gear regulations have been introduced and a number Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International and of small areas within the Natura 2000 area are being hosts internationally important numbers of e.g. identified as protected zones where trawling is forbidden. In guillemot (Uria algae), herring gull (Larus argentatus), Norway, the area is listed as a candidate area in the national great skua (Catharacta skua), little auk (Alle alle). marine protection plan currently under development. Under this plan, a network of MPAs will be established in Norwegian waters in 2004. The Norwegian 1999 Coral Regulation enables the Ministry of Fisheries to close coral areas to fishing with equipment that may touch the sea floor. The area can also be given the status of a nature reserve or national park under the Norwegian Nature Conversation Act, which has been considered for some time now by the regional authorities with respect to Yttre Hvaler.

Action to be taken Since the newly found Norwegian reefs lie very close to Fig. 3: Fragile epibenthos living on undisturbed soft sediment Swedish coral reefs and other important marine areas, it is habitat © Tomas Lundälv, Tjärnö Laboratory/WWF Sweden proposed to establish a transboundary protected area that includes the present marine protected area, Kosterfjorden- Human Impacts Väderöfjorden, the newly discovered reefs in Yttre Hvaler There are many threats to the area, large-scale ones like and parts of the Singlefjord. The whole area should be eutrophication, and local ones, such as fishery, shipping, nominated as an OSPAR marine protected area, to be exploitation for harbours and other constructions. There is a included in the network of marine protected areas in the big shipping lane passing right through the area to the North-East Atlantic. Within the area there should be co- harbours in Halden, Sarpsborg and Strömstad and the area operation across the national border regarding protection is close to the major shipping route to the Oslo fjord. Thus, and administration. Coral reefs and other sensitive or there is a risk of oil spills and release of toxic chemicals, valuable areas should be identified and protected from which particularly endanger the seabirds and the sensitive trawling and other activities. The local and national coral reef biotopes in the area. There is no offshore oil agencies in both Sweden and Norway have indicated their industry in the region, although oil prospecting may be willingness to create a transboundary MPA in the area, but initiated in the Norwegian sector of Skagerrak. The most so far there is no decision. immediate threat has been considered to be the shrimp Text prepared by Åsa Anderson and Andreas Tveteraas fisheries. The shrimp trawling has lasted for almost 100 years and occupies about 80 fishermen and some References/Further Reading 50 boats. The Skagerrak shrimp stock is considered stable Lundälv, T., Jonsson, L. (2000): Inventering av Koster-Väderö- området med ROV-teknik. Naturvårdsverket. Rapport and is not threatened. Nevertheless, shrimp trawling has 5079. Stockholm. negative side effects including both direct mechanical Nilsson, P. (1997): Biological values of the Kosterfjord area - a compilation and analysis of present knowledge. damage on the fauna in deep soft sediments and sensitive Naturvårdsverket. Rapport 4749. Stockholm. biotopes such as coral reefs, and indirect effects of Skov, H., Durinck, J., Leopold, M.F. & Tasker, M.L. (1995): increased sedimentation on deep hard bottoms, caused by Important Bird Areas for Sea Birds in the North Sea. BirdLife International, Cambridge. re-suspension of seafloor sediments. Observations made at WWF (2002): Coral reefs in the North Atlantic. WWF the coral reef in Hvaler indicates that at least 50 % of the International, Gland.. living reef has been damaged to a larger or lesser degree. http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/where_we_work/eur ope/where/ne_atlantic/corals.cfm This has caused great concern, not least amongst fishermen, who have reported reduced catches in the areas near to corals after trawling activities.