Division 2 Background

In 2012 a study will be launched into the effects of shrimp fisheries on benthic life in the Voordelta, North Sea Coastal Zone and Wadden Sea. The study aims to collect information to make an appropriate assessment in preparation of the issue of shrimp fisheries permits from 2014.

The programme of this study requires some areas to be closed to all forms of seabed disturbing fisheries. These include three 500 × 500 m (25 ha.) areas in the Vlakte van de Raan in the Westerscheldt estuary. The closure enables the conduct of research into long-lived, vulnerable benthos species, the effects of shrimp fisheries on the seabed ecosystem and the scope and composition of by-catch.